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The Kickham Comment - Boston Criminal Attorney Blog

Massachusetts Gun Laws Now Tougher

September 2, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

I get an increasing number of calls and emails from people who either want to secure a gun license for the first time (“License To Carry”, or “LTC” in abbreviated legal terms,) or they have been denied a license application by a local police chief, and wish to appeal. Most people think that just hunters and people in dangerous lines of work (such as transporting large amounts of cash to and from a business,) are interested in carrying handguns.

Not so. As a Boston gun license attorney, I can assure readers of this blog that a rapidly growing number of “everyday” citizens either want, or feel the need to carry a gun. It’s not hard to understand: The amount of violence in our society is frightening. Gangs roam the streets not just in urban jungles known for crime, but in the “quiet” suburbs, also. Everyday people fear they could become victims of a Massachusetts robbery crime, or a Massachusetts sex assault. Other people fear the increasing militarization of local police departments, and see in this the makings of government one day threatening the liberty of citizens, if a catastrophic economic crisis ever occurred. Is this an outgrowth of the Tea Party? Conspiratorial thinking? Are these people reactionary extremists? It’s hard to say, but far more people than many would suspect, either carry guns or wish to.

Against this demand, is handgun violence that has reached all-time highs, and vocal calls for increased handgun regulation. How to balance the two competing demands? The Massachusetts Legislature recently considered various proposals on this subject, which I’ve blogged about recently. Just a couple of weeks ago, both branches of state legislature passed and sent to Governor Deval Patrick a “compromise bill – which the governor signed into law. That law provides for the following:

In A Massachusetts Prison? Your Kids Probably Suffer More Than You.

August 27, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

If you’re charged with a crime in Massachusetts, and have children, you should think about how that process affects more than just yourself. Many people in this state wind up needing a Boston Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer, for a wide variety of criminal charges. They may need a Dedham sex crimes attorney; or a Wrentham assault & battery lawyer, or an Attleboro drug offense attorney. As awful as winding up in jail or prison is for defendants themselves, a new study says that it’s even worse for the children of convicted defendants. No surprise there. But does that fact serve as a deterrent to a lot of would-be criminal defendants? To people who are otherwise law-abiding citizens? Yes. But not to the hard-core ones (gang members, etc.)

A recent study by the University of California-Irvine has found that prison is extremely bad for children whose parents are incarcerated, as it (quite obviously) affects their emotional development and physical health as they grow up. The study is to be published in September 2014 issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. In fact, the study points out that having a parent in prison may be even more harmful to children than having their parents get a divorce or die.

In addition, the study compared children who have an incarcerated parent to other children with similar socioeconomic characteristics and demographics. It found that children who had a parent in prison were associated with having behavioral problems such learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and even speech and language problems. The obvious culprits? Mental and economic stress.

Massachusetts Domestic Violence Reform Bill: Not Perfect, But Wise

August 8, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

The subject of Massachusetts domestic violence charges has been elevated to a fever pitch over the last few months. This has been fueled by the case of Jared Remy, who was sentenced in June to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel.

The reason why this case has fueled debate over reforming Massachusetts domestic violence laws, is that Remy was a multiple offender with a long history of abusing Ms. Martel and previous girlfriends, and the court system never reined him in. It was claimed that Ms. Martel did not report previous instances of abuse, because she did not want her name to be made public in local police logs, which news reporters regularly plumb for publication. Currently, when a call is made to local police for any reason, the name and address of that caller and any parties involved in the call become public information in the city or town’s police logs. In domestic violence calls, the name of both the victim and the alleged abuser are entered into the police log. Advocates for the abused, including Jane Doe, Inc., a statewide organization that advocates for domestic abuse and rape victims, say that this fact discourages potential victims from calling the police. They say that if a domestic violence victim knew that her (or his) name would not be made public in the police log, they would be “more likely” to summon help.

That claim is somewhat anecdotal, but perhaps that’s true. It’s difficult to know precisely. To deal with this issue, the legislature has passed, and now sent to Governor Deval Patrick‘s desk, a domestic violence reform bill that would shield the names of both the alleged victims of Massachusetts domestic violence, as well as the names of alleged abusers. The relevant names will not appear in police department logs – unless and until the case is prosecuted in court. At that point – once an accused person is arraigned – the names of both the alleged victim and alleged abuser, would become public information (as is the procedure currently.) Supporters of the bill say the confidentiality provisions will encourage more reporting of domestic violence. Weston Police Chief Steven Shaw, supporting the bill, has commented that “My concern is that the way it is now … people that are being abused .. can end up in the paper. People are worried about their image.”

Boston U.S. Attorney’s Comments on Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo: Unjust and Unwarranted

August 1, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

Now that the jury in the Massachusetts Probation Department corruption trial has returned its verdict, some comment is needed concerning Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

Beforehand, some brief background on this case: The Boston U.S. Attorney’s Office brought this case alleging that John O’Brien, former Massachusetts Probation Commissioner, constructed a scheme with legislators – though not one legislator out of 200 was ever charged – whereby in exchange for hiring legislators’ friends, the Legislature would increase state funding and management powers to O’Brien. As said, no individual legislators were ever formally charged, but the federal prosecutors went out of their way to leak to the media that on the Legislature’s end, House Speaker Robert DeLeo was complicit in the alleged operation.

The Boston U.S. Attorney’s Office should be ashamed of the manner in which they have sullied the name of Robert DeLeo. Without ever charging him, prosecutors hoped to – and sadly have probably succeeded in – attaching DeLeo’s name to these convictions forever. Many in the media were only too willing to bite on this hook baited by the U.S. Attorney – shamefully so. I also noted too few letters to the editor supporting him, whether in The Boston Globe or The Boston Herald. How unfortunate.

Massachusetts Gun Reform Bill: Expand Police Chiefs’ Powers or Not?

July 26, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

A lot of back-and-forth has been going on up on Beacon Hill lately over gun reform legislation here in Massachusetts. As usual, the warring parties are gun owners and the gun lobby, vs. gun control advocates. Generally speaking, those two camps are represented by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, favoring stiffer gun control laws, and opposing them the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), likely assisted by the National Rifle Association (NRA.)

A key point of contention has been whether local police chiefs should have the power to deny an applicant a license for a rifle or shotgun (as opposed to a handgun.) Under existing law, police chiefs are required to give people who pass a standard background check, and satisfy other basic information, what is called a “Firearms Identification Card,” which allows the applicant to then buy shotguns and rifles. However, the procedure for handgun applications is different. For handguns, police chiefs can exercise their own discretion on whether to issue a License to Carry.” A police chief has the unilateral authority to deny an applicant a License To Carry if the chief determines the applicant to be unsuitable, in his or her unilateral discretion. An aggrieved applicant can petition a local District Court judge for a hearing on the license application denial, but not many decisions are reversed.

Currently, the two branches of the legislature are split on whether police chiefs should be given the same discretion to deny firearms licenses to rifle and shotgun owners, as they now have over applications for handgun licenses. The House favors broadening these powers to police chiefs; the Senate version keeps the current scheme, limiting police chiefs’ unilateral powers to solely handgun applications, not to long barrel weapons such as rifles and shotguns. This past week, Governor Deval Patrick weighed in on favoring the House version of the bill, giving chiefs the same discretion on rifle and shotguns licenses that they currently have on handgun license applications.

The Smell of Marijuana: Sorry, Massachusetts Police: No Ground For Search

July 12, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

I don’t know how many times that I’ve blogged about the complete waste of time that police resources and taxpayer money are involved in, when police officers harass people because of marijuana. As a Boston, Massachusetts drug offense attorney, it’s more pathetic than I can describe. Here we are, plagued by increasingly violent crime of all kinds, and what do so many police departments and officers spend their time on? Pot. An essentially harmless herb. Something that’s widely accepted by numerous medical authorities as non-addictive, and far, far less harmful than thoroughly legal alcohol. Not only do medical authorities say this, but so do numerous present and former police and law enforcement officials. Anyone who doubts that, can see it by visiting Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP.)

Six years ago, in 2008, Massachusetts voters made is crystal clear how they felt about personal marijuana possession, by voting overwhelmingly to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of pot. The new law, passed by citizen petition on a ballot question, limited the penalty of personal possession of one ounce or less of marijuana to a maximum fine of $100 – a civil offense only, akin to a parking violation. The message was loud and clear how voters felt. What was the response of most Massachusetts police departments? Issue troubling predictions of Armageddon, and streets filled with stoners. Oh, yes: And start writing tickets.

Three years ago, in 2011, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC,) handed down a decision about unlawful police searches – and marijuana was the key issue. You see, in that case, police had stopped the driver of a motor vehicle. Because they detected the odor of burnt (smoked) marijuana, they concluded that a “crime” had been committed, and proceeded to search the vehicle without a warrant. The case was appealed, and the SJC ruled that given the fact that the 2008 citizen initiative petition decriminalized possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, the mere smell of burnt marijuana – standing alone – did not establish probable cause to conduct a warrantless search.

Massachusetts Criminals: Try The Groundhog Meatloaf – Here’s Why Prison Is Horrible

July 6, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

Humorous Guest Post by Debbi K. Kickham, www.MarketingAuthor.com

I often tease my husband, Boston criminal defense attorney William D. Kickham, about how too many convicts have it “too good” in jail and prison. Ask me my opinion, and I’ll tell you that some criminals really live the life. To hear me tell the story of prison life, here’s how it works: You commit a crime, if you get the wrong lawyer (which you never would with my husband Bill) you wind up in prison, and the next thing you know you’re getting free room and board plus three square meals a day. Along with medical and dental. A gym where you can stay in shape. Use of computers and a library, where every day, you can entertain yourself. At the federal prison camp in Montgomery, Ala., there is even a music room, pool tables, and a craft room. There’s also a Federal Prison Guidebook written by a lawyer named Alan Ellis, which outlines all of the posh perks you’ll find. At the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon, you can even learn a trade such as construction, or learn how to become a personal fitness trainer. Click to read the article about it on CNBC.

What a life! You’ll save so much on room and board, food, and insurance, that you will have a king’s ransom waiting for you in the bank when you get out of prison – many times with a new career. (Hey, how many times has this happened to celebrities?)

DEA Pressuring Massachusetts Doctors to Disown Medical Marijuana Dispensaries: Shameful and Pathetic

June 7, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

I’ve written in this blog repeatedly in the past about how pathetic, foolish, and downright sad the federal government has been in its approach not only to drugs and drug policy in general, but marijuana in particular. Credible study after credible study has demonstrated that marijuana use is not only “not more harmful” than alcohol, these same studies have proven it is even less harmful than alcohol, and not chemically addictive. In contrast, everyone who is either awake or alive knows that alcohol is massively addictive, for many people. If you care to know just how addictive it is, look around you: Chances are, at least 2-3 out of the ten people you know, has some kind of a problem with alcohol. Need further evidence? Try checking out a local meeting of AA. I think you’ll be surprised.

It was more than 60 years ago that the federal government first wasted our tax money, and embarrassed itself enormously, with its financing and production of the long-since parodied film, “Reefer Madness.” For the past seven decades – over 70 years – this wildly laughable film has been the butt of more comedy shows, than most people could count. In the past one decade alone, 22 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws either decriminalizing or outright legalizing recreational use of pot. Has the world ended in those states? Have the streets of those states been filled alternately with doped-out zombies and crime-ravaged “drug lords”? Has civilized society “gone to pot,” filled with stoned losers and Cheech & Chong clones?

Laughably and clearly, the answer is a loud “No.” Yet here in Massachusetts, where voters four years ago decriminalized personal possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and two years ago overwhelmingly voted to allow a system of legal medical marijuana dispensaries, the federal government is now working to derail the twice-enacted will of the public. How?

Man Wrongfully Charged in Boston Sex Offense: Part Two of Two

April 18, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

In my previous post on this subject, I wrote about how people sometimes ask me how I can defend clients accused of sex offenses, and of how my answer is always the same: Not everyone accused of a Massachusetts sex offense is guilty. A recent example is a young man by the name of Ross Currier, 26 years old, who was recently arrested by Boston Police, jailed, fingerprinted, and arraigned on charges of Assault & Battery and Indecent Assault & Battery on a Person Over age 14. He was brought into court, his name brought before the media, and his reputation ruined in the process. After being released on bail, he was forced to wear a visible GPS device, tracking his movements at all times. There was just one slight thing wrong: Currier was completely innocent; he never committed this crime.

On February 15 2014, a woman reported to Boston Police that she was jumped by a man, from behind, early that morning outside her North End apartment. She reported that the man threw her to the ground, groped her sexually, and took a photo under her skirt with his smartphone. About three weeks later, Boston Police arrested Currier on March 10 after the alleged victim saw him in the North End and told patrol officers that she was “90 to 95 percent positive” that Currier was the man who had attacked her.

Another slight hitch: It seems the alleged victim had previously also misidentified another man in a photo array she had been showed by police, who – unbeknown to her – just so happened to be incarcerated at the time of the alleged assault. Worse, Currier had an alibi, specifically that he was at home with his fiancée at the time of the alleged attack. Notwithstanding, Currier was charged with this extremely serious crime.

Man Wrongfully Charged in Boston Sexual Assault: It Happens More Often Than You Think

April 13, 2014 | William D. Kickham, Esq.

I’ve said something in particular about Massachusetts sexual assault cases on this site many times, but this time I have some more local and recent evidence to make the point again, so here goes:

People will occasionally ask me how I can defend people accused of sexual offenses, such as Massachusetts rape charges or Indecent Assault and Battery charges. My standard answer: “Because the defendant may not be legally guilty of the crime.” Let me make clear: Rape and sexual assault of any kind is an abhorrent crime. And for those found guilty after being prosecuted with solid, incontrovertible evidence, they should be punished accordingly to the law – after they have been given a fair and impartial trial, and have received a competent, aggressive legal defense in court.

But let me make something else clear, based on my almost 25 years of experience as a Boston, Massachusetts rape charges lawyer: Just because someone screams “rape,” does not always mean the person charged is guilty of that crime. What circumstances could make that so?

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