I have knowlege of the particular clerk magistrate, prosecutor, and police department you are dealing with in Hampshire, Berkshire, and Franklin countys and the skill and experience to give you strong legal protection.
Police Investigations
When the police are looking into your activities a skilled defense lawyer can intervene on your behalf to make sure your privacy and rights are protected to the fullest extent possible (which makes gathering evidence against you more difficult). I keep in close contact with my clients and provide regular advise on how to respond- or not respond- to questions and will be present during police interviews.
Show cause hearings
The Police have incriminating evidence against you? This does not necessarily mean charges will be filed against you.
The purpose of a Show Cause Hearing is to determine
if there is enough evidence to issue a complaint and move forward with
charges against you. In Massachusetts you have a right to a Show Cause
Hearing for most misdemeanors for which you have not been arrested.
Why Hire a Lawyer?
A Show Cause Hearing might seem informal. (A fact the police and prosecutor take full advantage of.) In fact, Show Cause Hearings are an important stage in the criminal law process. Police, prosecutor, alleged victim, any witnesses, and the accused are allowed to present and contest evidence before a magistrate. Any statements made by the accused at this stage can be used against him or her.
Arguments presented during the Show Cause Hearing result in the clerk magistrate either issuing a complaint and pursuing charges against you or dismissing charges.
I have often been successful at getting clerks to not issue a complaint even when there is probable cause found.
If the case is dismissed at this stage the charges will never be placed on the clients record.
Even if charges are not dropped, a skilled defense
attorney will have protected the client and the clients witnesses from
inadvertently helping the prosecution. The attorney will also learn the
evidence gathered against the client in order to start preparing an
effective defense strategy immediately.
The benefit of haveing a skilled attorney at this stage in a criminal matter far outweigh the expence.
My clients pay an affordable fee and there are no further charges throughout the case.
