Why Some Massachusetts Judges Delay Dangerousness Hearings Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276 Section 58A permits the district attorney to move for detention if the defendant is charged with a felony that has an element of physical force or a threat thereof to an individual. Some Massachusetts district attorneys offices have…
Dangerousness Hearings in Massachusetts In today’s world of cable television, the Internet and social media prosecutors are often afraid of making reasonable bail arguments at criminal arraignments. They take a look at the charges, scan the police report and in an abundance of caution they move for detention under the…
Unreasonable District Attorney The district attorneys in most Massachusetts counties have strong training divisions. Experienced prosecutors run internal seminars educating young lawyers on a myriad of subjects. Among other things these seminars include how to try a case, the amount of bail to request for particular matters, legal standards for…
Arraignment Process in Massachusetts Several times each week and sometimes multiple times in a day I am in a court in Massachusetts representing a client at his arraignment. This proceeding is so familiar to me that I often take for granted that my clients will know what to expect and…
Default Warrants and Bail Hearings in Massachusetts If you fail to appear in court when scheduled to do so you will be defaulted. This may or may not be your fault but regardless you can assume that if you are in default an arrest warrant has issued. So naturally, when…
Bail for Rape Cases One of the questions I am asked by people who expect to be charged with a crime is the amount of bail they will have to post once the case gets filed. The answer varies from case to case and from person to person. The answer…
One of the things Massachusetts criminal defense attorneys have to consider when doing an arraignment is the potential issue of bail. Many prosecutors know very little about the cases their cases at the arraignment stage; particularly in the district courts. They arrive at work just before 9:00 a.m. and receive…
Arrests for serious crimes are likely to trigger requests for bail. This is true not just in Massachusetts but in every state. Bail orders are set in various situations. Bail orders depend on the severity of the crime charged and other things more fully discussed below in this post. Massachusetts…
As a rule, bail in Massachusetts is set by a clerk, an assistant clerk or a judge. Clerk’s and assistant clerk’s set bail after a person is arrested and held either at a police station or jail and prior to the person being arraigned on the pending criminal charge. Judges…
According to the Salem News, last week a Beverly, Massachusetts man went into a Tedeschi convenience store wearing a mask and a hoodie. The store clerk was arranging items in the store. He heard someone come into the store. He then saw a man carrying a large semiautomatic weapon demanding…