Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Re: Subject

A defendant's sentence is determined by the trial judge by considering several factors. That your son had no prior record is significant, as are the facts of the case. In other words, did he steal the credit card from an employer, did he use it multiple times, and what was the total value of the items he purchased with the card.

In a stolen credit card case, each use of the credit card will result in multiple charges, such as larceny, uttering, and forgery. Larceny means stealing, forgery is falsely signing someone else's name, and uttering is submiting that false credit card slip in order to get the goods.

A sixty day jail sentence followed by five years probation seems unusally harsh. If it has been sixty days or less since your son was sentenced, he should file a motion to revise and revoke, and go back in front of the judge who sentenced him and ask for a more lenient sentence.

He should have a lawyer prepare this motion, and argue it for him in court. If your son cannot afford a lawyer, he can ask that the court appoint one for him.

Best of luck to you and your son.