Los Angeles authorities are investigating allegations made by Grigorieva, who is accusing the actor of having struck her on the face on more than one occasion. She claims that the alleged assaults caused her to break a tooth, lose a veneer, and suffer a concussion. If charged and convicted for domestic violence-related assault, Gibson is facing time behind bars.

Already, there has been fallout from the recordings for the celebrity. His agent, William Morris-Endeavor, has dropped him, which may not bode well for his film career, and his reputation, which already took a pretty hard beating when he was arrested for DUI and made sexist and anti-Semitic remarks in 2006, has been significantly damaged.

Gibson has not publicly commented on the audio recordings. The media, however, is reporting that is is accusing Grigorieva of threatening to leak the recordings to the media unless he gave her money. He has met with the authorities about his claims. Grigorieva denies there is any extortion plot.

Boston Domestic Violence
Custody, divorce, and legal separations can be acrimonious, and sometime, the allegations between both parties can escalate. If you are under investigation for domestic violence, child endangerment, extortion, or any other Boston criminal charges related to the dissolution of your relationship, it is important that you are represented not only by a family law attorney but also by a Boston domestic violence law firm that knows how to protect your legal rights and defend you against the charges.

Investigators interview Mel Gibson to discuss extortion allegations against ex Oksana Grigorieva, New York Daily News, July 27, 2010

William Morris Endeavor dumps Mel Gibson, Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2010

Gibson charged with drunken driving, CNN, August 3, 2006

Related Web Resources:
Mel Gibson News, The New York Times

Massachusetts Law About Domestic Violence

Two Palmer residents now face criminal charges that they supplied alcohol to a 17-year-old boy who later died in a dirt bike accident.

For those of you who are not sure, the drinking age is currently 21.

Police say 45-year-old Robin K. and 28-year-old Kenneth D. (hereinafter collectively, the “Defendants”) will be summoned to appear in court on charges of procuring alcohol for a minor.

Detective Sgt. Scott Haley told the Republican newspaper of Springfield that
the teenager, Erik N. (hereinafter, the “Deceased”), drank alcohol during a bonfire in April at the apartment complex where the Defendants live.

Things like future liberty.

Let me save you the time of reading the remainder of this blog; the short answer to the title is “No”.

“Well, Sam”, you respond, “Can’t getting a lawyer involved in such a delicate time reflect badly on me or complicate matters?”

Maybe. If you have hired someone who does not have the experience to deal with the situation. But, then, that would be like not calling a doctor when you have a heart attack because there is the risk of medical malpractice out there.

The Rock star "Meatloaf" once began a hit song with the line, "On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?" After various lines seemingly meant to understand the original question, the answer was "Yes".

The image of hot summer nights is often used to portray passonate and, often, violent, occurences.

This is not limited to music or fiction.

We often see what might otherwise be verbal arguments escalate into physical altercations. Maybe it is the heat that makes tempers more flammable. For example, on Saturday, I wrote about a woman who was shot by police after she allegedly assaulted them with a knife. This was, of course, after she had assaulted someone else at home with the knife. This ended tragically…the police shot and killed her.

This is also a story which may bear a closer look this week, by the way.

This one, though, seems to have taken domestic violence to an unusual level.

Authorities say that they went to investigate a 911 call from a gentleman who claimed that his girlfriend had lunged at him with a knife and had tried to set his clothes on fire.

The officers arrived at the Somerville home at about 6:30pm yesterday. This was apparently not the first such response; police indicate that they had responded to the same home at about 3 a.m. after a neighbor reported shouting

When they arrived, 33-year-old Carol K. attacked them with a knife.

Police were contacted and within minutes an officer found the car parked at the corner of Lafayette and Scott. The children were still in the vehicle and hadn’t been harmed.

Following a foot chase, Collazo was arrested and charged with Massachusetts kidnapping and trespassing. He is accused of forcing his way into the building where police found him.

Meantime, Colecchi, who is accused of then stealing another car, was pursued by cops on the I-290 first in cars and then on foot after he crashed the vehicle. Colecchi is charged with two counts of kidnapping, operating a vehicle as to endanger, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, leaving the scene of property damage, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and possession of Class B substance. His criminal defense lawyer told the Telegram that the 36-year-old man is being overcharged. He says that whoever took the first car got out at once upon discovering that there were children inside the vehicle.

Van Stolen With Sleeping Children Inside, WCVB, July 13, 2010

Two suspects arrested for kidnapping, Telegram.com, July 12, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Crimes against the Person, General Laws of Massachusetts

Now, a couple of developments have some people reconsidering the events.

When 15-year-old Phoebe Prince committed suicide in January, six fellow South Hadley students were blamed for relentlessly bullying her. It was an easy fix for SuperDA Elizabeth Scheibel – indict them all and ruin their lives.

Whoops!

A new report shows there may have been factors other than bullying that led to the death of the South Hadley student.

Court documents, recently obtained by Emily Bazelon of the online magazine Slate, contain police interviews with Phoebe's mother, classmates, teachers and administrators that tell a different story; one that suggests the teen's troubles extended beyond the halls of South Hadley High.

Currently, I am handling a high profile case about child pornography. Already, the press is interested. This, of course, is natural and is the job of the media. However, I am troubled not by the fact that it is newsworthy, but the reaction of people. Any passer-by who is questioned about the matter seems to have already formulated the verdict of “guilty”. People are shocked that “this has happened”, except that a man's good deeds have been completely disregarded because of the new accusations. Other than that, nothing else has been proven to have “happened”.

What is even more troubling is the aftermath.

I can still locate articles from 2008 when another client of mine was arrested and charged with rape involving a child. People were interested then. Well, for the last two years, we fought against the “assumption of guilt” while trying to remind everybody else that a “presumption of innocence” was rumored to still exist. Finally, two years later, my client was completely exonerated…as in “Not Guilty”. Out of curiosity last night, I cruised the internet to find mention of the fact that my client, who attempts to resurrect his life now that he has been acquitted, has been found not guilty.

Big surprise – nary a whisper.

There have been a number of incidents where officers have been struck by civilian drivers over the past month. The latest example to grace the headlines was Mathew C., 24, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). On Saturday morning, he allegedly rear-ended a state police cruiser in a highway breakdown lane. He is said to have had a blood-alcohol level over twice the legal limit. Police also claim that he admitted at the scene to having had “too much” to drink.

I guess that would seemgly slam the lid shut for a prosecution for, among other things, drunk driving.

This was the fifth such crash in recent weeks. This time, the police say, the driver didn't brake at all before slamming his car into the cruiser.

During Sliech-Brodeur’s criminal defense trial, the defense claimed that Sliech-Brodeur’s long-standing mental issues were made worse by Brodeur’s intentions to divorce her. A psychologist who testified on her behalf said that Sliech-Brodeur doesn’t remember stabbing her husband.

In February 2006, a jury rejected Sliech-Brodeur’s defense that she was not responsible for stabbing her husband because she was mentally ill. The then 61-year-old woman was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Now, however, the state’s highest court is saying that the discovery process that took place during the trial violated criminal procedure rules (including the state’s limitations on discovery in insanity cases) and prejudiced the West Springfield woman’s Massachusetts murder case. The court says that the psychiatric expert for the prosecution was given information he should not have obtained and that the defense should not have had to give prosecutors statements and notes she had made for her own psychiatric expert.

Finding that Sliech-Brodeur was “unconstitutionally forced to help the state convict her,” the court is ordering a new trial.

SJC overturns murder conviction for West Springfield woman, Boston.com, July 19, 2010

Mass. court orders new trial in husband’s death, Boston Herald, July 19, 2010

Woman guilty of first-degree murder in husband's death, Mass Live, February 24, 2006

Related Web Resources:
Murder, Cornell University Law School

General Laws of Massachusetts

He is accused of taking the girl, then 14, to an area of the hospital where there were no security cameras and sexually assaulting her. His Boston criminal defense lawyer is asking jurors to remember that the defendant was a mental health patient when the allegedMassachusetts sexual crime happened. She also noted that because of his diminished mental capacity, he was incapable of understanding his actions or conforming to the law.

Diminished Mental Capacity Defense
Due to mental illness, a psychological disorder, or other health issues, some people who’ve committed a crimes lack the capacity to understand that their actions constituted a criminal act. Evidence of diminished capacity can be presented to a jury as part of the defense as they consider whether to find a defendant guilty or not guilty of a crime.

Massachusetts is zealous when it comes to pursuing people charged with sexual crimes and it is important that you are represented by a Boston criminal defense lawyer that can secure the best outcome possible for your case. A conviction as a sex offender can land you in prison for years, place you on the Massachusetts sex offender registry for life, and likely have serious repercussions on your career and personal life.

Girl, 16, testifies at rape case, Boston.com, July 14, 2010

Hospital Rape Case To Begin, WCVB, July 6, 2010

According to authorities, the Wellesley woman punched and kicked a pregnant woman during a brawl in April at Tulip Nail, a Boston nail salon. Following the incident, the fetus was delivered by emergency C-section but died. According to the medical examiner, the placenta became detached from the uterus. Woodhouse is related to the baby’s father.

Woodhouse’s Boston criminal defense lawyer says that it is unclear who began the fight. Per a Boston police report, after the two women left the salon the pregnant woman followed Woodhouse in her car and they reportedly continued their dispute. According to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, there was not enough evidence to establish that any intent to kill was involved. Massachusetts is one of the US states that will pursue homicides of unborn children who could have otherwise survive outside the womb.

A conviction for Massachusetts manslaughter can land a defendant in prison for up to 20 years. This is a serious criminal charge and in many cases the accused never intended to harm the victim.

Wellesley woman pleads not guilty to harming fetus, Boston.com, July 12, 2010

Woman indicted in death of fetus, Boston Herald, July 12, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Fetal Homicide State Laws, National Conference of State Legislature

As you have probably, heard, the ten alleged Russian agents recently rounded up in the Boston area and other parts of the Northeast, have pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Most of the defendants admitted that they are Russian citizens and are agents working for the Russian Federation.

The sentence?

Well, a swap has been arranged. The Russian Federation will receive the spies in their custody and in turn will release four individuals claimed to be connected to American intelligence agencies, according to the United States Department of Justice.

In a Department of Justice press release, Attorney General Eric Holder said, “This was an extraordinary case, developed through years of work by investigators, intelligence lawyers, and prosecutors, and the agreement we reached today provides a successful resolution for the United States and its interests.”

Everybody is excited about this solution.

It is a lesson learned the hard was for 18-year-old Buzzards Bay resident Daniel M. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), if he did not know it beforehand. Currently, he is being held on $5,000 bail after he allegedly beat a family member with an aluminum baseball bat.

Yes, that would make this a case of domestic violence.

The Defendant was arraigned in Falmouth District Court Tuesday morning after being arrested for allegedly hitting the 43-year-old man (hereinafter, the “Unnamed Complainant”) in the head with the bat at around 12:15 a.m. yesterday outside a Buzzards Bay home.

According to law enforcement, the Defendant struck the Unnamed Complainant with the bat after the latter attempted to leave after the two had had an argument.

When the investigating authorities arrived, they found the Unnamed Complainant lying in the driveway, unconscious and bleeding from the head, Bourne police said. He was taken by MedFlight helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston early yesterday morning, according to Bourne police.

It does involve criminal law, though. As well as show business.

You may have heard snippets over the past months of Lindsay Lohan and her difficulties with the law. One such difficulty has been showing up in court for such incidentals such as probation violation hearings.

Finally, it would seem that the court had enough.

Yesterday, a Los Angeles judge found Ms. Lohan in violation of her probation. The actress was sentenced to 90 days in jail. The hearing revolved around a missed court date in May. Ms. Lohan had claimed that the reason she had missed the court date was that she had lost her passport at the Cannes Film Festival and was unable to travel back to the states to attend the court date.

I hate when that happens, don’t you?