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New Reality in MA Courts – Fall 2025 Criminal Defense Update

New Reality in MA Courts – Fall 2025 Criminal Defense Update

Immigration

It has been roughly eight months since the beginning of the second Trump administration and some of the changes at the federal level have had an impact on Massachusetts courts. Immigration law issues now loom larger than ever in criminal matters. Individuals who are not documented, or have pending claims, such as for asylum, are at risk of detention and deportation, pre-trial. The pre-trial part of this is what makes today’s landscape different.

In a high profile incident out of Boston Municipal Court’s Central Division, a defendant was taken into ICE custody mid-trial. The federal government refused to return him to the court, triggering a forceful condemnation from the trial judge, though ultimately to no avail. In less high [Read More…]

Risks and Rewards

Being a trial lawyer can be really stressful! I recently had a jury trial on a case that carried a mandatory minimum sentence (18 months) upon conviction. Anything other than a “not guilty” would have been a career ender for my client, at minimum.

District court level cases can be tried within one day. Such one day trials are preferable for all parties, including the jurors. Thus, to keep to a tight timeline, I agreed or “stipulated” to certain elements of the offense. While it is more conventional for defense attorneys to hammer away at each element of criminal charges, stipulations can help strategically.

If you have a tight theory of the case and want to keep that centered throughout the trial, stipulations can help cut back [Read More…]

Statement re. House Speaker Mike Johnson

I am proud to have drafted this statement for the Mass. LGBTQ Bar Association, and for the editing and votes of support by the Board!

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On October 25th, a little-known member of the U.S. House of Representatives was elected Speaker.  Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) has a decades-long embrace of extreme anti-LGBTQ initiatives which gives us cause for grave concern.

We have already seen how rights, believed to be secure, can be blithely rolled back.  Last year, abortion rights were gutted by a radical Supreme Court majority, aided and abetted by Justice Coney Barrett, against whom we previously issued a statement of disapproval.  Reactionary members of SCOTUS opined that other precedents, including [Read More…]

District v. Superior Court

Donald Trump Face Over Indictment PaperworkThere is a lot of news in the air around indictments, namely of a former President.  As that saga has been unfolding I’ve been able to answer to some questions regarding the court system, as inevitably, court coverage results in a lot of jargon.  As there is an order to the processes and procedures in courts, so too is there a highly specific form or language to describe its various components.

To start at the beginning, how does a alleged crime become a matter before the court?  In Massachusetts state courts, the bulk of the criminal matters begin as Summonses.  A Summons is a court order to appear.  Individuals are summonsed to court [Read More…]

Trouble in P-aradise…

P-town

What do you think of when you think of P-town?  Beautiful sunsets… tea dance… shopping… partying… food… a welcoming environment… all of the above??  Provincetown, MA is a special place for many people, especially members of the LGBTQ community.  Located at the very tip of Cape Cod, P-town has been an oasis for our community for decades.  Each summer, thousands upon thousands of tourists arrive, via car, ferry, plane, or seaplane (!) to live it up in this one of a kind destination.  With a year round population of about 3,000, the summer population can swell to 60,000.  Things can get pretty packed.

So why is a lawyer writing about P-town?  Well, it’s that “living it up” part I just mentioned.  As a criminal defense attorney, [Read More…]

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