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Legal Blog

There used to be 3 Sessions and now there is typically one session a day.  There is the 4 Judges and each Judge goes there one day a week.

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New Bedford Satellite


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The Plymouth Probate Court is located 52 Obery Street, Suite 1130 in Plymouth, Mass. 02360 and Brockton is 215 Main Street, Suite 220, Brockton, Mass.  02301. The phone number for the Plymouth is (508) 747-6204 and Brockton is (508) 897-5400.

 

The Registrar’s Office or Clerk’s office is generally open from 8:30 - 3:00, Monday – Friday and there is an excellent website for both the Probate Courts www.pcpfc.com it also includes a list of the Judges available Motions, child support guidelines, the different filing fees and some Probate Court and Divorce forms that can be accessed by the public.


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As many people are aware the Dookhan Lab scandal had the laboratory that tested for drugs and had the certificates and evidence at criminal cases has had nearly 200 inmates right now that have been released or have their cases put on hold with countless others having that as well.  There are implications not only for the criminal cases, but also for family law cases. 

 

I have an ongoing case where I am representing the mother in a termination of parental rights case; where her conviction and her unavailability on her DCF cases due in large part to allegations of tainted evidence in the lab scandal.  The impact on people in the legal system is fairly dramatic and some people say that there can be over 10,000 people that were directly affected by the drug lab scandal; and that it can take well over $300 Million Dollars to fix.  It is important if you know anyone that has a drug conviction that they should see whether or not the Massachusetts drug lab testing had any implications with the chemist at Dookhan Lab.


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This year the Supreme Court made a ruling in a 5-4 decision that officials can strip search people arrested for any offense no matter how minor the charge is before admitting them to jail even if there is no evidence or suspicion to suspect the person of contraband. 

 


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In December of 2001 in Commonwealth v. Hoyt, the Massachusetts SJC determined that once you are asked for Miranda Rights it can be considered unequivocal and much of what took place was the Defendant had after being read his Miranda Rights saying that he wanted an attorney, but then said he could not afford one.  Then the Defendant would speak to them because he did not have an attorney and the police then told him that he could look for an attorney and the Defendant said I guess I will just talk to you now. There were some comments back and forth where the Defendant did end up speaking to the police officers and making some statements that were used against him and ended up being excluded because he had made the request not to speak until he had an attorney present; even though he appeared to then equivocate on his Miranda Rights.


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In choosing a lawyer is not as simple as choosing a landscaper or a carpenter. There are a lot of different variables about what or who is the best lawyer for you.  There are a lot of considerations that you have to look at. Some of that might be more obvious, such as the lawyers experience, education, and training, but there are also a lot of other things that you have to look at.  One of the things is that lawyers are all different and there is not necessarily a right or wrong approach to how a lawyer should work with you, but you would want to look at the benefits of one lawyer vs. another. 

 


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DCF is formally known as “DSS”; and is required under the law to provide an appropriate service to help strengthen families who are identified because a report was supported. This is accurate whether your children remain in your home or placed in temporary foster care. There are a lot of different services that can be put into place; such as counseling, parenting education and things of that nature.  The Service Plan needs to explain what the services are and you are asked to comply with the Service Plan.  It is very important that you understand what is in the Service Plan and what you are agreeing to do.

 

You can contact an attorney before you sign the Service Plan and you may agree in part and write in the comments section the part you don’t agree with; which is better than to sign a Service Plan that you disagree with.


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DCF is not allowed to tell you the name of the person who reported you. Sometimes they call anonymously and sometimes they are mandated reporters, but regardless the names are redacted or blacked out.  You are able to get a copy of the report, but you need to be able to make the request in writing to the Regional Director of the DCF office with a copy to the Commissioner.  You may want to check with the local DCF office to get the address of the Regional Director.  Then you need to get the report or written denial of why and it will take sometime to get the report


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Generally, a social worker will come to your home is the first step, if it is a non-emergency situation.  You are entitled to have an attorney present or someone else with you.  It is recommended that you consider having an attorney present. The social worker will discuss the allegations that had been reported and may discuss a lot of other issues and putting your life under a microscope; including, medical, emotional, mental health issues, financial difficulties, housing situation, cultural and racial background.

 

The social worker may want to speak to the children or other members of the family and may want to examine your home, or talk with daycare providers and other collaterals that are involved.  Any information that you give to DCF can ultimately be used against you in court, if DCF tries to seek custody through court; you don’t have an obligation to talk to the social worker and you can refuse to permit the investigation; including DCF in your home, but if DCF believes that your child is in immediate danger, they may try and get the police or going to court to help them. Before you refuse to let DCF in your home, you should seriously consider talking to an attorney.


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DCF is formally known as “DSS”; and it is required under the law to provide an appropriate service to help strengthen families who are identified because a report was supported. This is accurate whether your children remain in your home or placed in temporary foster care. There are a lot of different services that can be put into place; such as counseling, parenting education and things of that nature.  The Service Plan needs to explain what the services are and you asked to comply with the Service Plan.  It is very important that you understand what is in the Service Plan and what you are agreeing to do.

 


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