Practice Areas
Most of my practice is devoted to criminal defense, both in the trial courts and the appellate courts. I also do some civil litigation and some civil appeals. Below you will find a brief description of these areas of the law.
As for the geographical area, I practice only in Massachusetts. My home and my office are both on Cape Cod, so I ordinarily appear in the trial courts of Barnstable County. I have also appeared many times in the courts of Bristol County (New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton) and Plymouth County (Plymouth, Brockton), and occasionally on the Islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. In the right circumstances, I would appear in any court within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
I would undertake appeals of criminal convictions from any court in Massachusetts.
Criminal Defense
If you have been charged with a crime you have a right to the assistance of counsel. The sooner you obtain that assistance, the better. It may be crucial to begin preparing your defense as soon as a prosecution has begun or is being prepared by police or other investigators. Mistakes can be made, and rights can be lost, at any phase. A lawyer can protect your rights.
If you even believe you are suspected of having committed a crime, especially by police, legal advice may be important.
If you have been arrested, or if a court has issued a formal charge against you (either a Complaint or an Indictment), you must appear in court. There you will be entitled to contest the allegations against you and to present your defense. The criminal process can be very complicated. Few people are equipped to defend themselves. Though a minor illness or injury does not require the attention of a physician, consultation with a doctor may be prudent. So too, the advice of a lawyer, even about relatively minor criminal charges, could prove important.
The outcome of any criminal case could have a great impact on your life.
Criminal Appeals
If you have been convicted of a crime after a trial, you have a right to have the conviction reviewed by an appellate court. Various forms of relief could be granted. The court could reduce your conviction to a less serious crime. You could be granted a new trial. The court could even order the trial court to reverse its judgment and find you "not guilty."
If you believe you were wrongly convicted, you should get legal advice. You should not delay. Your appellate rights could be lost if you do not assert them within the time the law permits.
Civil Law suits and Appeals
A civil suit is a legal claim brought by one person (or a business entity, such as a corporation), called the Plaintiff, against another, called the Defendant. It is intiated by the filing of a Complaint in a court. A Complaint describes the nature of the claim and the type of legal relief the Plaintiff seeks. No crime need be alleged, but the Complaint must (with very rare exception) allege fault of some kind (carelessness, failure to meet an obligation, etc.) which has caused an injury of some sort (physical, emotional, economic, etc.) to the Plaintiff. After Defendant has received a copy of the Complaint an Answer must filed, meeting the allegations point by point.
While a civil suit is pending, it may be settled by agreement. If this can be done on reasonable terms, it should be done. The outcome of trial is almost always uncertain. Bringing a case to trial may be expensive and emotionally draining for both parties.
If a case is not settled, the court may dismiss the suit for various reasons.
If not settled or dismissed, a civil suit ends with a Judgment, which is an order of the court resolving all the issues.
A party dissatisfied with the Judgment has a right to review in an appellate court.