Articles Posted in Trial Strategy and Evidence Notes

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 draw an adverse inference against a defendant who declines to testify. For the defendant, the harm that testifying at the hearing causes in…

Updated August 2026 A Massachusetts drug case may be resolved through a suppression motion, a failure of proof, an authorized diversion or nonconviction disposition, or a trial. A judge can exclude evidence because police obtained it unlawfully, but admissible evidence may also be insufficient to prove possession, intent to distribute, the identity of the substance,…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 I maintain a record of not guilty verdicts in OUI jury trials in the Massachusetts District Courts and Boston Municipal Court. I built that record since 1995 in courtrooms across Eastern Massachusetts. In this post I explain how Massachusetts OUI…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 An arrest in Massachusetts begins a fast sequence of police and court proceedings. Police first complete booking and must have an on-call court clerk make the initial bail determination. At the court's next session, arraignment occurs and a judge considers…