617-807-0949 |matt@barisonlaw.com

Court System

September 2018

The Power of the Jury Trial

By |2025-09-26T03:00:40+00:00September 6, 2018|Constitutional Law, Court System, Criminal Justice, Legal Overviews|

There has been a lot written lately about how the jury trial is an endangered species. While it it true that most criminal complaints resolve short of a jury trial (through a plea deal) many cases can and must go to trial.

Many serious offenses in the Commonwealth, such as Indecent Assault and Battery Under 14, require those convicted to register as sex offenders; the laws are often written to prohibit defendants from making plea deals to avoid the registration requirement. In such instances, the only way to avoid being labeled a sex offender is to be found not guilty by a jury.

I recently defended an individual who found himself in such circumstances, and was able to obtain a NOT GUILTY verdict after a jury trial. [Read More…]

June 2018

Help Yourself Online

By |2025-09-26T03:00:41+00:00June 12, 2018|Court System, Criminal Justice, Legal Overviews, Personal Injury|

If you are reading this post, chances are that you have at least one and probably multiple social media accounts. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are all great platforms to share your passions and stay connected with friends and family. But what you share can also be used by people who are not your friends.

Take, for instance, the case of an auto accident. If you have been injured and are seeking compensation, you must be sure that nothing you post online could undermine your claim. Let’s say your foot was injured in the accident and you have been attending ongoing physical therapy. It would be unwise (putting it nicely) to post a picture of yourself playing soccer. Even [Read More…]

February 2018

Dangerous Weapons

By |2025-09-26T03:00:41+00:00February 7, 2018|Court System, Criminal Justice, Legal Overviews|

Massachusetts laws are often written in colorful or archaic language. One such example concerns the offense of “Carrying a Dangerous Weapon” (M.G.L. ch. 269 §10).

Subsection (b) of this law deals with non-firearm weapons, and begins by enumerating a long list of weapons that are inherently dangerous, including a:

“stiletto, dagger or a device or case which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife . . . dirk knife, any knife having a double-edged blade, or a switch knife . . . or a slung shot, blowgun, blackjack, metallic knuckles or knuckles of any substance which could be put to the same use with the same or similar effect as metallic knuckles, nunchaku, zoobow, also [Read More…]

November 2017

Bail: What you need to know.

By |2025-09-26T03:00:42+00:00November 6, 2017|Constitutional Law, Court System, Criminal Justice, Legal Overviews|

Bail is a very important matter for those facing criminal charges. At arraignment, the Commonwealth, though the Assistant District Attorney, will often request bail. The Defense Attorney will also make a bail request, and then the judge must decide how much bail, if any, to impose.

A recent decision by the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has outlined the factors to be considered in setting bail. The most important development from this new ruling, Brangan v. Commonwealth 477 Mass. 691 (2017), is that a Defendant’s dangerousness is NOT a factor to be considered in setting bail.

If the Commonwealth is moving to hold someone without bail, it must hold a dangerousness hearing, which is a separate event from the arraignment; at [Read More…]

April 2016

Sealing Criminal Records (CORI) in Massachusetts

By |2020-11-01T17:37:58+00:00April 14, 2016|Court System, Criminal Justice|

Nobody’s perfect; if you’ve been charged with a crime, the charge, regardless of the outcome of the case, is likely a part of your criminal record, known in Massachusetts as your CORI (criminal offender record information). Such information is routinely used by prospective employers and landlords; if you have a criminal record, you may be disqualified for jobs or housing, despite your credentials.

Thankfully, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made it easier for individuals to have their criminal records sealed. Before getting into an overview of the process of sealing one’s record, it’s important to make a few key distinctions. First, sealing is different from expungement; the latter, in effect an erasure of your record, is not available in Massachusetts. Instead, when [Read More…]

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