Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Hello,

My name is Katelyn. On 1/6/13 after a very heated argument with my boyfriend filed a police report so I could file for a TRO because he had threatened to "get his silver 45 cock it & pull. It".I got the TRO & did not go back for the second court appearance to make it permanent nor did he because we had agreed to try to make things work between us(we do share a child) ( i knowww!). I had both asked & told the officer filing the report that I did not wish to press charges & was informed that would not be a problem. About two days ago he recieved a summons in the mail for a magistrate hearing to decide if criminal proceedings will continue against him for domestic threaths. So basically im asking what will if anything can i do to help the situation. & if hes charged what is he most likely to serve in terms of probation fines or jail time. He has no record what so ever! Thanks so much in advance for your help!


Asked on 3/15/13, 1:51 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

In Massachusetts, the decision to prosecute or not prosecute rests exclusively with the prosecutor. You are under no legal obligation to speak with anyone from the DA's office, and should speak with your boyfriend's attorney if you do not want these charges to proceed.

Remember that the district attorney is an elected office and in re-elections, some like to speak in terms of the number of people and number of cases prosecuted... that leads to a perverse incentive to prosecute cases just to pad the numbers.

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Answered on 3/15/13, 7:49 am
Dan Hynes N.H. DWI GUY

Massachusetts has what is called an "accord and satisfaction". In certain cases, a victim can use this to get charges dismissed. However, it can't be done in felony cases. His sentence if convicted varies upon a lot of things including who the sentencing judge is.

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Answered on 3/15/13, 7:50 am


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