Violent Crimes in Massachusetts Are Aggressively Prosecuted: You Need An Aggressive Lawyer to Defend You

Violent crimes almost always carry harsher penalties than any other criminal offense. A criminal conviction for a violent offense often includes lengthy prison sentences sometimes without the possibility of parole. The reason why these charges carry stiff penalties and are rigorously prosecuted is because these offenses always have a victim. Law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges have zero tolerance for violent offenders and take these offenses very seriously. Anyone arrested for committing a violent act against another will face fierce criminal prosecution in an attempt to obtain justice for the victim and their family.

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Violent Crime or Self-Defense?

A violent crime is defined as any criminal offense in which violence is used in order to commit the crime. If you or a loved one has been arrested for any types of violent crime, your freedom and legal rights are at risk. The best way to defend against an aggressive state or federal prosecutor is to hire an experienced and aggressive criminal defense attorney to represent you.

There are many cases in which charges are filed against an individual that was acting in self-defense or in the defense of another. There also are many cases of mistaken identity where a witness may pick the wrong person out of a line-up. Physical evidence may also point to an innocent person when the evidence is mishandled or taken out of context. There are also instances where a person is mistakenly charged for a violent crime or the victim of a rush to judgment by a prosecutor who is motivated by the media or political expediency.

Attorney Noonan was an Assistant District Attorney and now uses that experience in practicing criminal defense for clients throughout Southeast Massachusetts. Mr. Noonan knows all of the important details of the criminal process and understands exactly how to prepare a successful defense for his clients. As a former prosecutor, he develops highly effective defense strategies and is able to accurately predict the prosecutor’s strategy or tactics.

Violent Crime Convictions in Massachusetts Bring Serious Penalties

Any violent crime is considered to be a grave offense due to the fact that the life and safety of a victim is considered to be at risk. These types of criminal offenses will and are aggressively prosecuted by the district attorney’s office. In cases involving the use of a weapon in which the victim suffers a painful injury and emotional distress, you can be assured of a rigorous prosecution.

In Massachusetts, a criminal conviction of a violent crime carries harsh legal penalties, such as community service, fines, lengthy prison sentences, lengthy probation, mandatory counseling, restraining orders and restitution to the victim. If the defendant has any prior convictions, he or she may also be subject to enhanced sentencing and charges that carry even harsher penalties and punishments.

Serious & Aggressive Defense against Violent Crimes

Although you may have been accused and charged with a crime, you are presumed innocent by the court. An experienced and knowledgeable Massachusetts Criminal Attorney will investigate your case and diligently develop your defense strategy from the initial arrest to the ultimate disposition of your case.

If you or someone you love is under investigation for a violent crime or has already been charged, you should speak with The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan immediately. Even if you are only under investigation and have not yet been formally charged, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney who can help protect you from damaging your case.

Boston Criminal Defense Attorneys Defense Strategies that Work

Violent Crimes Criminal Defense Lawyers With Trial Law Experience – Initial Consultations Are Always Free

Our attorneys offer expert legal representation against charges involving:

If you are facing any of the following charges, contact our criminal defense law offices in Brockton, MA for a free initial consultation:

Our knowledgeable and experienced Brockton Criminal Lawyers at The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan are available to assist clients throughout all of Southeast Massachusetts, Plymouth County including Brockton, Abington, Bridgewater, Whitman, Hanson, Hingham, Wareham, Halifax, Middleborough, Rockland, Lakeville, Holbrook, Avon, Kingston, Pembroke, Plympton, Pembroke, Hanover, Carver, Duxbury, Marshfield, Norwell, Hanover, Scituate, East/West Bridgewater, Rochester, Marion, Mattapoisett; Norfolk County including Quincy, Stoughton, Dedham, Weymouth, Braintree, Avon, Holbrook, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Wrentham, Foxborough, Franklin, Walpole; Bristol County including New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Mansfield, Easton, Raynham, Norton; Cape Cod, Falmouth, Barnstable.

Assault and Battery

If you are convicted of battery, an assault, assault and battery, or an indecent assault and battery on a person over age 14, or a child under age 14, in Massachusetts you could face a maximum imprisonment of 2 1/2 years in a house of correction or a fine up to $1,000. If you assaulted someone who had a restraining order against you, or, if this was not your first offense, you could be facing even stiffer criminal penalties.

An assault and battery conviction will remain on a public criminal record and can lead to job loss, difficulties in finding employment or educational opportunities.

The prosecutor will work hard to prove your guilt and in most cases, seek the maximum punishment possible.  For the best possible outcome, you need a criminal defense attorney who has experience in defending the accused in cases involving assault and battery charges; an attorney who will take  the time to investigate your case and prepare a strong defense in your favor.

Boston area defense attorney Gerald J. Noonan is a former assistant district attorney now putting his skill and experience to work as a assault and battery criminal defense lawyer. Over the course of a thirty year career Attorney Noonan has gained extensive knowledge of the courts and is relentless when it comes to protecting the rights of his clients. As a criminal defense attorney alone, Gerald J. Noonan has successfully handled more than 340 criminal trials.

Massachusetts Assault and Battery Law

Massachusetts General Law 265 s13A breaks Assault and Battery into two categories:

  • Intentional Assault and Battery occurs when someone intentionally, and without justification, touches another person (regardless of how slight) in a harmful or offensive manner. The nature or the extent of the touching can infer intent. A touching that causes or is meant to cause bodily harm is a harmful touching while an offensive touching is any touching that offends someone’s sense of personal dignity or integrity. The everyday contact and touching that is apart of the world we live in, like bumping into someone in the line at the local coffee shop, is justifiable.
  • Reckless or Willful Assault and Battery requires knowing or intentionally disregarding an unreasonable risk, and when viewed prospectively, the risk must entail a high degree of probability that substantial harm will result. Someone acts willfully when they cause injury intentionally. If someone knew or should have known of the likelihood that substantial harm would result to another the conduct could be found to be reckless.

Talk With an Experienced A&B Defense Lawyer for Free

Our knowledgeable and experienced Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers at The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan are available to assist clients throughout all of Southeast Massachusetts, including but not limited to Brockton, Taunton, Bridgewater, Weymouth, Hingham, Quincy, Plymouth, Marshfield, Attleboro, Canton, Stoughton and all smaller cities and rural areas in Southern Massachusetts. We also serve the counties of Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol, Massachusetts.

Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon

The consequences that can result from a conviction on charges of assault and battery by means of a deadly weapon conviction are serious. Attorney Noonan has dealt with these types of cases for over 29 years. Attorney Noonan is a Boston Assault Defense Attorney with legal and trial experience you should take into court with you.

The crime of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon is set out in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 15A. In order to convict someone of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon the district attorney must prove the following:

  1. The defendant touched another person (regardless of how slight) without an excuse or justification;
  2. The touching was intentional;
  3. The touching was done with a dangerous weapon.

Attorney Noonan is a former assistant district attorney who knows the system. His expertise as a prosecutor has enabled him to build strong defenses as a defense lawyer even in complicated cases involving serious crimes, including charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

Definition of a Dangerous Weapon Under Massachusetts Law

“dangerous weapon” includes items that by their nature are capable of causing serious injury or death. Dangerous weapons are also those items which when displayed in a such a way reasonably appear capable of causing serious injury or death. … Thus, an object that is, on closer inspection, incapable of inflicting serious injury or death can still be a dangerous weapon if, at the time of the offense, it would have been reasonable to believe that it was capable of inflicting such injury.

In other words whether an item can be classified as a dangerous weapon depends on:

  • Whether the victim believed the weapon had ability to inflict bodily harm;
  • Whether the victim reasonably so perceived it; and
  • Whether the defendant by the use of the instrumentality intended to create fear in furtherance of a crime.

Charged With A&B With a Deadly Weapon? Talk to us for free.

Murder and Felony Murder Defense Attorney, Brockton, MA

arrested criminalIf you have been charged, arrested or are facing an investigation regarding a murder contact us immediately for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case.

The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan can provide you with a competent and aggressive Massachusetts criminal defense attorney with experience in representing defendants at murder trials. Our experience, and thorough investigation and case preparation is what makes the difference in the outcome in our clients’ cases.

In Massachusetts, prosecutors will always aggressively pursue cases involving the death of another human. You need a criminal defense attorney with trial law experience to launch an aggressive defense.

Our knowledge and skill along with the dedication and hands-on personalized attention our clients receive goes a long way in relieving the stress and worrying that comes with murder and felony murder charges.

The Massachusetts statute creates degrees of murder based on certain criteria, but does not create different crimes. In other words, a defendant charged with murder may be charged either in the first degree or in the second degree, but not both for the same act. This is important to understand because the punishments differ according to the means of commission employed.

Our attorneys offer expert legal representation against homicide charges involving:

First Degree Murder

M.G.L.A. 265 s 1 defines murder in the first as any murder committed with deliberately premeditated malice aforethought, or with extreme atrocity or cruelty, or in the commission or attempted commission of a crime punishable with death or imprisonment for life, is murder in the first degree. A murder that doesn’t meet these standards is murder in the second degree.

Felony Murder Distinguished

Under the above-mentioned statute, a murder committed in the commission or attempted commission of a crime punishable with death or imprisonment for life, is murder in the first degree. So a murder committed during the commission of a robbery, which itself is a felony punishable by life imprisonment, may support a murder in the first degree charge. The intent to commit the felony (in this example a robbery) is substituted for the malice aforethought required for a murder charge.

In addition, a murder committed while the defendant was trying to flee the scene of an attempted robbery may result in a first-degree murder charge. Finally, a co-defendant could also be charged with felony murder arising out of joint venture to commit a crime punishable with death or imprisonment (in this example a robbery) if the prosecution can show the co-defendant shared the mental state required for the robbery and participated in the crime as aider or abettor.

Facing Murder Charges? Call for a Free Consultation

Our knowledgeable and experienced Massachusetts Murder Defense Attorneys at The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan are available to assist clients throughout all of Southeast Massachusetts, including but not limited to Brockton, Taunton, Bridgewater, Weymouth, Hingham, Quincy, Plymouth, Marshfield, Attleboro, Dedham, New Bedford, Barnstable County, Fall River, Foxborough, Wrentham Stoughton and all smaller cities and rural areas in Southern Massachusetts. We also serve the counties of Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol Massachusetts.

No matter where you are located, we are just a phone call away. Call the Boston Defense Lawyer to schedule a free no-obligation case review and consultation at (508) 588-0422 and you will have taken your first step to find out how best to confront this important matter. You can also click here to use our Free Case Evaluation Form.

More Information

No matter where you are located, we are just a phone call away. Call our Brockton Criminal Lawyers to schedule a free no-obligation case review and consultation at (508) 588-0422 and you will have taken your first step to find out how best to confront this important matter. You can also click here to use our Free Case Evaluation Form.