Articles Posted in Trial Strategy and Evidence Notes

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 The opening statement is the only time in the trial when jurors who know nothing about the case will listen to me without interruption. They have just been told the defendant is presumed innocent, and most of them do not…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 A criminal trial is decided by people I have never met, and I get one short conversation to learn who they are. Empanelment is the only part of the case where I am gathering information instead of testing it. By…

On August 7, 2026, the Appeals Court decided Commonwealth v. Figueroa, No. 25-P-1027 (Mass. App. Ct. Aug. 7, 2026), a case about the use of a defendant’s statements from a police interrogation conducted in a language other than English. The defendant, whose first language is Spanish, was questioned in Spanish, and the Commonwealth never produced…

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has vacated a domestic violence conviction because of the prosecutor’s closing argument. In Commonwealth v. Pena, No. 24-P-0970 (Mass. App. Ct. July 24, 2026), the court set aside a Boston Municipal Court jury verdict for assault and battery on a family or household member, holding that a closing argument that vouched…

In Commonwealth v. Gordon (2025), applying Smith v. Arizona, the Supreme Judicial Court held that a substitute analyst may not testify to an opinion that depends on the truth of an absent analyst\u2019s testimonial statements. Here is what that means for forensic proof in drug cases.

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 On July 9, 2026, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Commonwealth v. Watson, SJC-13850 (July 9, 2026), and held that G. L. c. 278A, the postconviction forensic and scientific analysis statute, permits digital forensic analysis of cell phones. The Commonwealth had…

Some of the hardest fought Massachusetts domestic violence cases I try are the ones where the accuser never takes the stand. The person who called 911 recants, refuses to appear, or has reconciled and wants the case gone. The Commonwealth does not always drop those cases. It tries to prove them through the recording and…

Be fair to the witness. Respect the jury. The two rules behind every Serpa Law Office cross-examination, from the rules of evidence to the last question that answers itself.

A Massachusetts OUI trial guide to field sobriety evidence, including police authority, NHTSA procedures, scoring, refusal evidence, video, and opinion limits.

A defendant may decline to testify at a hearing on a Massachusetts 209A restraining order (abuse prevention order) while a related domestic violence charge or investigation is pending. The civil judge may then draw an adverse inference against the defendant. A defendant who testifies usually does far greater damage to the criminal case. Testifying gives…