What is a subsequent offense? A subsequent offense is a crime that a person has been convicted of before. It happened subsequent or after your first conviction. A subsequent offense does not always mean “second offense.” It could be a third, four…
What is gunshot residue? Gunshot residue, often abbreviated “GSR”, is a type of forensic evidence. GSR is the substances that come out of a firearm after it is discharged. Pulling the trigger of a firearm causes a small explosion to occur inside…
Operating under the influence of alcohol is a crime that is taken seriously in Massachusetts. If you are convicted, the punishment will impact not only your freedom but also possibly your relationships with others and employment opportunities. When c…
The Second Amendment gives people the constitutional right to keep and use firearms. But the right isn’t unlimited. There has been much debate in politics on what restrictions states and local communities should be able to place on gun ownership. T…
Thanks to the Constitution, people have privacy rights that protect them from searches by police that are unreasonable. For example, in order for police to search your home they are almost always going to be required to have first obtained a search w…
Massachusetts’ highest court the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a major new decision on Wednesday that will impact 27,000 people who either entered a plea for or were convicted of operating under the influence (OUI). This ruling makes it signi…
In order to convict a person of a crime, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person committed all the elements or parts of the offense. For example, a person cannot be convicted of operating under the influence of alcohol (OU…
Testifying in court is a nerve-racking experience for many people. It often leads to the breakdown of professional relationships. Personal ones can also be affected. This includes family relationships, especially when family is on opposing sides. For…
On February 1, 2018, Massachusetts banned bump stocks and trigger cranks. It was not the first state to outlaw these firearm attachments. Today, 12 of the 50 states have made it illegal to purchase, sell, or possess a bump stock and a national ban is…
Nearly everyone agrees that human trafficking is a serious crime, and most people know that there are laws against it. However, what fewer people might realize is that the laws against human trafficking are not just federal or international. Human tr…
