June 26, 2012

• Steven Topazio wrote this April 27, 2014 at 5:58 pm

The client, a 21 year old high school graduate, received an Application for Criminal Complaint following the dismissal of a criminal complaint which was previously dismissed by Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Topazio. The Client was initially arrested after being seen by neighbors snorting cocaine while parked in his automobile. Procedurally, if a criminal case is dismissed in the District Court, the case is usually dismissed without prejudice. Dismissing a case without prejudice allows the Commonwealth the opportunity to re-file charges if they so choose. At this second so-called magistrate’s hearing, the magistrate’s responsibility is to determine whether there is currently probable cause to authorize a complaint, not whether there was probable cause at the time of the initial arrest. Therefore, in determining probable cause the magistrate may consider information obtained subsequent to the arrest. This may be either inculpatory (strengthening the case against the accused) or exculpatory (e.g., showing that an earlier identification was mistaken). Today, Attorney Topazio was successful in convincing the Magistrate who found probable cause to issue new charges against his Client, to hold the complaint for one year and if the Client stays out of trouble the case would be dismissed.