Recently, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the amendment in 2003 of the Commonwealth’s drunk driving law, G.L. c. 90, § 24, did not provide a reason for it to reverse its decision in Commonwealth v. Brazelton, 404 Mass. 783 (1989), that there is no right to counsel when a suspect must decide whether or not to take a breathalyzer to test whether they were
In a recent First Circuit decision concerning civil liability for police supervisors, Saldivar v. Racine, 818 F.3d 14 (2016), Reardon, Joyce & Akerson, P.C. (“RJA”) successfully represented the Fall River Chief of Police in a civil rights lawsuit in which the plaintiff, who sought $750,000.00 in damages, claimed that she had been assaulted and raped by a Fall River police officer. According to the plaintiff,
In Commonwealth v. Alleyne, ___ Mass. ___ (2016), the Supreme Judicial Court clarified that police officers do not need a suspect’s permission to record the suspect’s interview as long as the suspect has actual knowledge of the recording. The Court recommended that police departments do away with their interview forms that advise a suspect of a right to refuse recording and that require the suspect
In 2015, RJA secured the dismissal of a civil rights claim brought against the Chief of Police for the City of Fall River. The plaintiff in the action accused a Fall River police officer of raping her while the officer was on duty, and the claim against the Chief of Police was that the Chief had failed to supervise or discipline the officer appropriately in
In 2011, an individual made a complaint against a Waltham police officer that the officer inappropriately had threatened him. After its receipt, the complaint was investigated and, as a result of the inquiry, and after an appointing authority hearing presided over by a retired Judge, the officer was suspended. Through his union, the officer appealed the sanction and, at arbitration, the arbitrator reduced the discipline
In a recent civil lawsuit seeking $750,000.00 in damages, the plaintiff accused a Fall River police officer of sexually assaulting her while the officer was on duty. Named as defendants were the officer, the City of Fall River and the Fall River Police Chief; the Chief was represented in the litigation by RJA. Although the plaintiff filed her lawsuit in state court, believing that a
In November, 2010, a police officer with the Lawrence Police Department was in Lawrence District Court to support the son of the Department’s Deputy Police Chief, who had been charged with various crimes. While in the courthouse, the officer had an interaction with three civilians who were involved in the prosecution of the Deputy Chief’s son. Based upon that interaction, the three civilians complained to
Most civil rights claims against police officers in Massachusetts are made by former criminal defendants who, for one reason or another, were not found guilty of the criminal charges brought against them. Going forward, those plaintiffs will have one less claim that they can make against police officers involved in their arrest or prosecution. RJA represented a Sergeant with the Springfield Police Department in connection
RJA’s client was driving in Carver, Massachusetts on a Sunday afternoon when a driver on an intersecting street went through a stop sign and crashed into our client’s vehicle. The force of the collision caused our client’s vehicle to perform a 360 degree spin until it came to rest against a telephone pole. As a result of the accident, our client suffered a fracture to
In 2012, a police officer in Springfield was convicted criminally based upon actions taken during the course of an arrest. Following the conviction, the officer retained RJA to pursue an appeal on his behalf. In the brief filed with the Massachusetts Appeals Court, RJA argued that the trial judge did not instruct the jury properly on the applicable law, as she failed to provide guidance
