The police say you, or someone in your family, used a car without permission. Now there’s a court date for “use of a motor vehicle without authority.” That’s stressful, especially when the car belongs to a friend, a relative, or a rental comp…
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What can I do with a license? It is the burden of the Commonwealth to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not have license or authority to do something when you are charged with a crime. However, under G.L. c. 278 § 7 a person relying on a…
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Tags: Assault and Battery, Burden of Proof, Dismissal, Felony, Intent, License, License or Authority, Magistrate, Misdemeanor, Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Specific Intent
Can I go to jail if I do not speak to police? Recently, a client called concerned that she DID NOT respond to accusations from police when she was accused of shoplifting. While in the parking lot of a store she was confronted by police. The police wa…
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Massachusetts criminal law recognizes that free will is essential to the commission of a criminal act
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Tags: abusive relationship duress, Arraignment, Bill Barabino, coercion criminal defense, Criminal, Defenses, Duress, duress defense Massachusetts, Felony, Immigration Consequences, imminent threat, Indecent Assault, Misdemeanor, necessity vs duress
A check you wrote did not clear. Now someone says you owe money, or you have a police report, a summons, or a court date for larceny. You may not have meant to cheat anyone. You may be sure the money was there. Either way, the paperwork says “larce…
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A defendant is charged with the crime of “use of telephone for betting” when he or she unlawfully is (ONE OR MORE): Using a telephone Permitting a telephone …for betting purposes. What is the law on phone betting? Commonwealth law states: “Wh…
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What is an inference? A permissible deduction accepted as believable is an inference. In other words, inferences are little steps in reasoning in which a person takes some known information, applies his or her experience in life to it, and then draws…
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What is Resisting Arrest? In Massachusetts, under M.G.L. c. 268, §32B, a person can be convicted of Resisting Arrest. Resisting Arrest means knowingly preventing or attempting to prevent a police officer from making an arrest by using or threatening…
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Tags: Arraignment, Arrest, Assault and Battery, Dismissed, Diversion, Felonies, Felony, Immigration Consequences, Misdemeanor, Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Reckless Conduct, Resisting Arrest, Wanton Conduct
Criminal harassment is a Massachusetts crime built around a pattern of conduct aimed at one person — not a single rude message or one heated argument. Under G.L. c. 265, § 43A, the Commonwealth must prove a series of willful and malicious acts tha…
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Tags: Bill Barabino, Burden of Proof, Criminal, Criminal Harassment, Defenses, Felony, Harassing Speech, Misdemeanor, Pattern of Conduct, Protected Speech, Susbstantial Emotional Distress, Wanton Conduct, Willfully and Maliciously
You’ve been charged with larceny, or someone in your family has. Larceny is the legal word for theft. Being accused of stealing hits hard, whether it’s about a phone, money at work, or something bigger. Here’s what the law actually says, in pla…
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