Menu
Blog Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Attorney Steven J. Topazio
Start Your Free Consultation
Law Offices of Steven J. Topazio
44 School Street
Suite 1000C
Boston, MA 02108

Embezzlement by Escrow Agents

In a recent case, the defendant, a building contractor, engaged through various business entities in the construction and improvement of residential homes. At the conclusion of a five-day trial, a Superior Court jury convicted each defendant of five counts of embezzlement of funds deposited with them by two customers, for the purpose of building a home. In accordance with purchase and sale agreements presented by the defendants for the construction of homes, the customers had read More

Stun guns no longer illegal in Massachusetts

Did you know that in Massachusetts stun guns are no longer illegal – Massachusetts courts concluded that stun guns are considered to be ‘arms’ and fall within the protection of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Furthermore, it was ruled that the absolute prohibition in G. L. c. 140, § 131J, barring all civilians from possessing or carrying stun guns, even in their own homes, was inconsistent with the Second Amendment and therefore read More

Embezzlement of Funds

In Massachusetts, embezzlement is a criminal offense involving stealing or misappropriating property that has been entrusted to someone for safekeeping. It is considered a type of theft crime and is punishable by law. Under Massachusetts law, embezzlement is defined as the fraudulent conversion of property or money by a person who has been entrusted with that property or money, for their own use or benefit. The crime of embezzlement can be committed by an employee, read More

When can a witness-spouse refuse to testify at trial?

If an argument between husband and wife escalates to one being charged with a crime or accused of domestic violence, the witness-spouse can later refuse to testify at trial. Under Massachusetts law, a witness-spouse has the right to exercise a marital privilege not to testify against their marital partner even if the prosecutor wants to prosecute the case and even without the witness-spouse’s testimony the criminal case might be dismissed due to lack of evidence. read More

Credit card fraud statute treats debit cards as credit cards.

Recently, a defendant argued that he couldn’t be convicted of credit card fraud for misusing a victim’s debit card, since proof of debit card misuse is not sufficient to support a conviction of fraudulent use of a credit card under G. L. c. 266, § 37C(e), because the instrument used was a “debit card” rather than a “credit card.” The defendant contended that because the debit card drew upon the victim’s own funds at the read More

When can a Police Officer Order you to Exit your Motor Vehicle after a traffic stop?

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a police officer may order a driver of a motor vehicle to exit the vehicle during a traffic stop if the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the driver poses a threat to officer’s safety.   An exit order is a minimally intrusive intrusion on the driver’s liberty, and is justified by the need to protect the officer from harm. The court also emphasized that an exit order read More

Court Suppresses Firearm Discovered During An Investigatory Stop After It Finds Stop Was Based On A Hunch Rather Than Reasonable Suspicion Grounded In Specific, Articulable Facts And Reasonable Inferences Drawn Therefrom.

Commonwealth v. James Kearse, Docket # 18-P-1619 (2020) After observing the defendant, James Kearse, standing in the vicinity of two other men who engaged in a quick handshake, Brigido Leon, an officer in the Boston Police Department’s drug control unit (DCU), believed he had observed a hand-to-hand drug transaction.  Officer Leon radioed other officers to conduct an investigatory stop of the defendant and his companion.  As a result of this stop, the defendant was pat read More

The Exigent Circumstances Exception To The Search Warrant Requirement Is Inapplicable To Establish Probable Cause Where The Police Create The Exigency Themselves By Not Procuring A Search Warrant When It is Practical to Do So Before Going Into The Defendant’s Residence To Make A Warrantless Arrest

In the case of Commonwealth Vs. Jean Alexis, 481 Mass. 91 (2018) the SJC held that a Superior Court judge properly allowed the criminal defendant’s pretrial motion to suppress evidence that police officers observed in plain view during a protective sweep of his dwelling after his warrantless arrest, where, under art. 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, the police could not avail themselves of the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement when it read More

The Police Cannot Search An Individual’s Home For Drugs Unless They Obtain A Search Warrant Based On Probable Cause

In Commonwealth Vs. Jillian M. Silva, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 270 (2018), the Appeal’s Court reversed the allowance of the defendant’s motion to suppress drugs seized from her apartment and concluded that, contrary to the Superior Court Judge’s ruling, the police affidavit in support of its application for a warrant to search the apartment established probable cause to believe that drugs would be found there.  The Appeals Court found that police observations of an individual’s read More

Discharging a Firearm Within 500 feet of building in violation of MGL c. 269 § 12E is a Strict Liability Offense requiring No Criminal Intent or Mens Rea

In Commonwealth v. Kelly (No. SJC-12710) – January 30, 2020, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a defendant’s conviction of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, in violation of M.G.L. c. 269 § 12E, and unlawful possession of a firearm, in violation of M.G.L. c. 269 § 10(h).  The court, in this matter of first impression, held that section 12E does not require any mens rea as to the element of discharge and read More

1 … 4 5 6 7 8