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The criminal justice system is complicated regardless of the charges that a person in Massachusetts faces. In fact, those with little legal experience or training often question their ability to make the decisions that will likely impact the rest of their lives on...
Murder is perhaps the most serious criminal charge that can be leveled at a person. Most residents of Massachusetts understand that murder is the crime of intentionally killing another human being. Less well understood is the difference between first and second degree...
Today's media is filled with references to grand juries, especially the grand juries that are hearing evidence presented by special counsel, Robert Mueller. Even with all this news coverage, few Massachusetts residents outside of the legal profession understand the...
The proliferation of cellphones and other portable devices that can take and transmit photographs has given rise to a new form of child pornography -- the taking and transmitting of photographs of minor children via the Internet. A selfie, as most people in...
The advent of the Internet has spawned a variety of criminal activities that are commonly referred to as "cybercrimes," "computer crimes," and "network crimes." The terms are used interchangeably and do not vary in their meaning. A Massachusetts who resident commits...
Federal courts in Massachusetts and elsewhere use two kinds of juries: petit and grand. Petit juries hear evidence at trial and return a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The work of grand juries focuses on investigating federal crimes to determine whether probable...
One of the most widely known phrases from American criminal law is "pleading the Fifth." While many people in Massachusetts are familiar with the phrase, very few know exactly what the phrase means. The phrase refers to the Fifth Amendment to the United States...
All fifty states, including Massachusetts, require convicted sex offenders to provide certain information about their current residence, employment and related life information. The purpose of compiling this information is to allow members of the public to check up on...
Computers have infiltrated the lives of almost everyone who lives in Massachusetts, and the English language has consequently incorporated new verbs and nouns -- spam, viruses, malware, identify theft and hacking, to name a few. Despite the advantages of living in the...
Most people in Massachusetts understand that a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to engage in criminal conduct. But what, exactly, is a federal conspiracy? The answer is both simple and complex.The United States Criminal Code states that "If two or...