Massachusetts Criminal Charges

Facing any criminal charges is a frightening experience. No matter how serious the charge, no one expects to face a criminal offense, conviction, or jail time. And even for

Even for relatively minor offenses, you have to worry about a criminal record and the impact that may have on your life, as well as the simple embarrassment of people finding out what happened, and thinking of you as a “criminal”.

We understand exactly what you are going through and completely sympathize with your difficult situation. We are here to help. Understandably, almost no one who gets arrested actually knows what to expect, and what might happen to you.

We can help you understand the risks and impacts of a criminal charge, and more importantly, how we can fight to avoid the most serious consequences.

Knowing what kind of penalty you are facing when you are faced with criminal charges can help you focus on what needs to be done.

But knowing that your charge is a felony or a misdemeanor, and knowing the “maximum” sentence honestly doesn’t tell you much about what you are likely facing. You really need to speak to an experienced defense attorney to get the real deal on the most likely outcome, and even the “worst case scenario”, which is rarely as bad as the maximum sentence, and almost always less than you fear.

Give us a call for a personalized phone consultation. We can help!

Massachusetts Criminal Offenses – Misdemeanors vs. Felonies

The most basic crime classification we have is that of misdemeanors and felonies.

Misdemeanors are defined as offenses that do not carry a potential prison sentence. They can, however, carry a jail sentence, typically up to one year, although jail time is relatively rare for most typical misdemeanor sentences.

Misdemeanor charges are heard in District Court. We have represented people in all district courts in the state. Quincy, Dedham and Hingham are some of the closest to our Braintree offices, but our attorneys travel to all corners of the state in defense of our clients.

Felonies are those criminal offenses that are punishable by a period of incarceration in prison or by the death penalty. Felony offenses may be heard in the district courts or in superior courts.

Ref: MGL §274-1

When someone is worried about whether their charge is a felony or not, usually that means they are concerned about the impact of a felony conviction on their job situation, and long-term career prospects. If you are facing a felony charge, there is no short simple answer to that question, it requires a more detailed evaluation of your case, so don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Beyond the classification of misdemeanors and felonies, the statute that governs each criminal offense dictates the penalty you will face.

Misdemeanor Criminal Offenses

The following are some of the more common misdemeanor charges I defend:

Assault
Disorderly Conduct
Domestic Assault
Drug Possession
DUI / Drunk Driving / OUI
Failure to Appear in Court
Hit and Run (Leaving the Scene of an Accident)
Impersonating a Police Officer
Indecent Exposure
Larceny (Shoplifting)
Malicious Damage
Minor in Possession of Alcohol
Open and Gross Lewdness
Operating Under the Influence (OUI/DUI/Drunk Driving)
Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle
Resisting Arrest
Solicitation of Prostitution / Sex for a Fee
Trespassing
Threatening to commit a crime
and others

If you are arrested for a misdemeanor offense, your first court date will be a criminal arraignment.

Or if the misdemeanor charge was not witnessed by a police officer, you may get a criminal summons to appear at a clerk magistrate’s hearing. The clerk’s hearing is to “show cause” that there is sufficient evidence to go forward with a criminal complaint against you. If the officer witnessed the charge and arrested you, that witnessing is essentially sufficient cause to move forward, so you don’t get a clerk’s hearing and are formally arraigned.

I represent clients at lots of Clerk Magistrate’s hearings, and it is often the very best opportunity to win the case, and get the charges to go away as if they never happened. I wrote a book on winning these hearings.

Sentencing After Conviction

If you decide to plead guilty, or to a CWOF (Continuation without a Finding), we will know what penalties we are facing before we agree to the deal.

If we fight a case at trial and lose, it can be a little more complicated. In misdemeanor cases, we may not be risking that much

If you are convicted of a misdemeanor criminal charge in Massachusetts, in most cases, the judge will take up sentencing immediately after you are found guilty. There may be some consultation, and your attorney can make a sentencing argument on the spot, but generally there is not a lot of investigation into the process.

With a felony sentencing, a judge will take far more than your crime classification into consideration when determining how to sentence you. It has been said that the sentencing of offenders is, by far, the most difficult thing a judge has to do.

While the law may state that a felony offense can carry up to 10 years in prison, for example, the judge has the power to sentence you anywhere within that range—and that is a great deal of power.

Felony Offenses

Felony charges are more serious in that they carry a maximum possible sentence of more than 1 year in prison. In addition to the more serious jail time possibilities, and felony stays on a criminal background check for 10 years, limits job opportunities where you are asked on a job application “Have you ever been convicted of a felony charge”? and can have other serious consequences.

If you are accused of a criminal felony offense in Massachusetts, we always look for opportunities to get the charge reduced to a misdemeanor and lower the stakes in court.

Felony offenses we regularly defend include:

Felony Presentence Investigation/Report

A presentencing report is typical in more serious felony cases. In a felony case, the presentence investigation and resulting report can be one of the biggest tools a judge will use in determining your penalty for a crime. The presentence investigation is typically done by a probation officer. During this investigation, you, family members, and your employer may be interviewed.

The presentence report is essentially a breakdown of all of the crucial information a judge would want to know about you when deciding your fate. The report can include any of the following information:

Residential status
Criminal history
Mental health history
Financial records
Employment status and history
Ties to the community (family, etc)
Drug and alcohol evaluation
Officer’s recommendation

While the judge doesn’t have to follow the recommendation of the reporting officer, they will likely give that recommendation some weight in their decision-making process.

In evaluating the presentence report, judges are often trying to consider if you may be a good candidate for probation. A probation officer would have reliable input in that area helping the judge to decide if you would be successful in the community or if a period of incarceration is more appropriate.

Probation

If you are sentenced to serve probation, you will likely hear the judge say he/she is suspending your sentence. This simply means that you are sentenced to prison time, but that time is suspended while you serve your probation.

For minor misdemeanor offenses, you may be given unsupervised probation. An unsupervised probation is typically little more than mailing in a card to your probation officer, checking in with what you have been doing, and noting that you have met the terms of probation set.

With a supervised probation, you will have to meet with your probation officer, at least monthly. You may also be subject to more stringent monitoring of behavior, alcohol or drug consumption and testing, and other questions.

The terms of probation vary according to the charge and the circumstance. Probation requirements often restrict travel out of state, and may require compliance with alcohol or drug testing and completion of education programs on substance abuse or anger management classes.

If successful, you will be discharged from probation at the completion of your term. But if you violate the terms of your probation, you can be brought back to court and that suspended sentence can be activated, requiring you to serve the original sentence.

Diversion Programs and Sentencing Alternatives

In some cases, you may be able to sidestep the criminal process by being eligible for a diversion program. Pretrial diversion is reserved for nonviolent, first-time offenders.

These programs feature a probationary period that, when completed satisfactorily, the charges against you are dropped. For young people between 17-21 years old, there is a pretrial diversion program, which can result in no criminal record after a short time if the program is completed successfully.

There are also drug dependent diversion programs for people with addictions who can successfully complete a rehab program.

Another possible outcome similar to a diversion program is something called a pretrial probation. For relatively minor offenses, this can be a great option when we can get it. There are no requirements to complete any program. It essentially means if you stay out of trouble for a period of time, the charges just disappear. More on pretrial diversion and pretrial probation.

Not all charges and not all defendants are eligible for these types of programs, but they can be an excellent option to avoid a criminal record and the consequences that can go along with that. Contact me today to see if you might qualify.

When you are up against criminal charges, you shouldn’t have to worry about what the legal terminology is or how to best handle your case—the right defense lawyer can do that for you.

If you are facing criminal charges in Massachusetts, call me for a consultation on your case and some free legal advice.