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Pay attention to this if you don’t want to get stuck sitting in jail for 60 days without the possibility of being bailed out

You get arrested and you go to court for your arraignment. During your arraignment you get released on your own personal recognizance, which means that you are released from custody on no bail. You are all happy and forget to listen to the bail warning. It depends on the court, as some judges like to read the bail warning, while others have the clerk read them to you.

The bail warnings usually sound similar to: you are released on your own personal recognizance. Please be advised that if you are arrested or charged with a new offense while your case is pending your bail may be revoked and you can be held for 60 days without bail.

So if you are released on your own personal recognizance or on bail and you are arrested or charged without another crime your bail may be revoked. When you get arraigned on your second charge the prosecution may file a motion to revoke your bail. If the prosecution files a motion then the judge will rule on the motion. The judge makes his determination based on a two part test. One, is there probable cause to believe that a person committed a crime during his release? Two, if the release will seriously endanger any person or the community? If the judge does revoke your bail you will be taken to jail for 60 days. If you bail is revoked you will be sitting in jail for 60 solid days.

You only need to be arrested or charged with a new crime. The law says that you are innocent until proven guilty, but for the purpose of bail, being arrested may be enough to hold you. Remember, if you have a pending court case and you are out on bail or personal recognizance, make sure you don’t get arrested, or you could spend 60 days in jail.

District Attorney’s Association posted this regarding bail revocation
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dmdaterminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Court+Decisions&L2=Alphabetical+List+by+Case+Name&L3=M+-+S&sid=Dmdaa&b=terminalcontent&f=courts_paquette&csid=Dmdaa

DUI attorneys
http://www.drunkdrivingduilawblog.com/duilaw/bail-may-be-revoked-for-montco-woman-accused-of-dui-manslaughter/

http://www.mycrimespace.com/2007/06/28/scott-shefelbine-may-have-bail-revoked/

Don’t go to a clerk’s hearing without an attorney

A clerk’s hearing or a show cause hearing is very common in Massachusetts. A person can be arrested and brought into court and arraigned, or the clerk may issue a notice for a show cause hearing.

The standard at a clerk’s hearing is probable cause that a crime occurred. The clerk determines whether there is enough cause to issue a criminal complaint or to take no action. These hearings are not open to the public and are not subject to open meeting laws. The way the proceedings are held is completely up to the clerk. However, most clerks usually allow the complainant either the police or the victim to explain their side of the story first. Then the clerk allows the accused to explain their side of the story if they so choose. Finally, after all the testimony is heard, the clerk will make a decision.

So if you receive a notice for a clerk’s hearing, what should you do? You should contact an attorney right away. To put together a good case hearing, your attorney will need the proper amount of time to prepare. It is true that the hearings are not recorded, but anything you say during a hearing is considered an admission, and can be used against you in court later on. It is also possible to get a lot of these complaints resolved during the clerk’s hearing. If the case is resolved during the clerk’s hearing, the charges are never officially filed, and as a result are not recorded on your criminal record.

A lot of people want to go to these hearings themselves without an attorney. Most people believe that as long as they tell their story everything will be fine. The reality is you need to be able to explain your story in the right way. Even if you are able to get a case dismissed later on in the court process, your record will still show that you were charged with the crime. So be smart and hire an attorney as soon as you can.


Massachusetts Bar Association explanation of show cause hearing
http://www.massbar.org/about-the-mba/press-room/journalists'-handbook/22-common-legal-proceedings

Mass. law updates stating that there is no right to access show cause hearings
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/2007/03/no-right-of-access-to-show-cause.html

Attorney Elliot Savitz explanation of show cause hearing with video
http://www.masscriminaldefense.com/clerkshearing.htm

Court to Court: My journey from the maple wood floors of the basketball court, to the mahogany wood desks of the court room

The game ended when I was still seventeen years old. A disappointing defeat at the state finals ended my senior year and a magical twenty game winning streak. At the time, I was about to leave for college in a few months, but I already started to miss my teammates, the game, and above all else the competitive rush. During the fall I would leave good old Hopedale and go to Northeastern for school. I was excited about the new opportunities, but not my life without competitive sports. Like most, I had no idea of what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be. However, I knew that I didn’t want what I did in high school to stand as my only achievements. I also didn’t want the sense of competition to forever elude me, so I went on searching.

A few summers later, I lucked out and got a job with the Suffolk District Attorney’s office as an intern. Knowing very little about the subject beyond what I saw on television, my expectations were limited. It was one of my first days when I got a chance to watch one of my first trials, and when I did I feel in love with the art. I knew that this was what I have been looking for.

Today I realize that the world of competitive sports and trial work has many similarities. For one, practice is a key part of success. There may be people out there that possess a natural gift in terms of scoring a basketball or trying a case, however, I knew that wasn’t me. Trial experts, basketball coaches, colleagues and teammates may tell me how to shoot a ball or object in a trial, but the only way to get better for me was to actually do it.

Second, I must prepare for both. In the past, preparation included scouting the other team, learning the type of defenses they played, the offense sets they ran, and finally preparing a game plan to give my team the best chance to win. In the court room, it is quite the same figuring out the other team’s defensive and offensive strategies and coming up with a game plan to put in the best case.

I also noticed that the mental challenges are similar. For basketball, one of the most difficult things was to play well when I was fatigued. It is no different for me in the court room. Obviously, I am not running around the court as I would on the basketball court, but a case can go for hours to days. The same mental challenges exist for me. During the basketball game, I want to stick tot the game plan, run the right play, get a turnover if possible and not do anything that could lose the game. In the court room, I want to stick to the theory of my case, ask the right questions, object to evidence and not do anything to jeopardize the case. The game and the trial are tiring affairs which make it more difficult to focus and to make the right decisions.

Finally, I love both for its competitive aspect. It is hard to replace the pressure of shooting free throws in a tight game, the euphoria of making a game winning shot, and the sorrow of defeat. Inconceivable to me at the age of 17, but many years later I was able to find that trial work provides some of the same emotions for me. Sure I still try to play in competitive basketball games, but now my battles are done behind a mahogany desk rather than on maple wood floors.

2000 Boy Basketball: Clark Tournament Champions, Central Mass. Champions, State Finalist. http://www.miaa.net/bsktbll-cmass-champions.htm