News and Press for Massachusetts
Criminal Defense Attorney Elliot Savitz
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Press inquiries on Massachusetts criminal law issues welcome. If you need a
quote or an opinion, please call me at (781) 326-2700. |
August 2010: New charges to Massachusetts driving laws go into
effect on 10/1/10.
- Texting while driving ban. No texting/emailing while driving.
It is a stoppable offense, resulting in a traffic citation.
- If under 18, no cell phone use at all. A violation will result
in a license suspension.
- Drivers over 75 will be required to renew drivers licenses in
person at the registry, and pass an eyesight driving test.
A few more details on the Massachusetts
texting while driving ban here.
November 2009: More license plate scanners in Massachusetts,
this time in
Springfield. The police love these devices. Clearly, driving a
car that had been reported stolen for a week while carrying bags of
heroin packaged for resale doesn't sound
like a well thought out plan. But the bottom line is that any minor
offense or flag on your car or license can get you stopped by these
advanced license place scanning systems.
July 2009: Elliot Savitz comments on the
Gates disorderly
conduct case. June 2009: Automatic License Plate
Scanners deployed in
Melrose. If you have a unpaid parking tickets in that
town, or an expired or suspended license, or
outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court, beware! And
get the problem resolved ASAP. February 2009: Big brother state monitoring is
becoming a reality, as I
warned nearly two
years ago. Local police in Revere and Saugus, MA are now using
passive monitoring technologies to scan the license plates of
thousands of cars per hour.
More commentary
here. One likely result of these automatic license plate
scanning systems will be even more citizens being ensnared and
arrested for minor charges, and even by mistake, in the case of
Registry of Motor Vehicles bureaucratic errors. You can be arrested
for have a license suspension for which you are not aware. And
licenses can be suspended incorrectly, as happened with recent
local radio show host. And the registry may not even notify
you if your registration is expired. (And a
registration expiration can often be something you are unaware
of. November 2008: The Marijuana decriminalization
bill passes! When the voting is officially ratified, the new
rues go into effect within 30 days. After than point, marijuana
possession of less than 1 oz will be a civil fine of $100 (as well
as require a drug abuse education program). But it will not be a
criminal offense that is reported on your CORI record. October 2008: Thoughts on the efforts to
decriminalize marijuana in Massachusetts. Vote Yes on 2!
November 2007: I am quoted in an article in the
Tufts Daily
Newspaper. I add commentary and thoughts on a local
Massachusetts embezzlement criminal case. April 2007: Elliot's press release on
police license plate
scanning technology, and it's implications for open warrant, or
probation violation issues. March 2007: Elliot is quoted in the Boston Globe
on
teen alcohol criminal issues. February 2006 - Elliot Savitz consults on the
television show
Boston Legal.
Press inquiries on Massachusetts criminal law issues welcome at
(781)326-2700. Elliot Savitz is a Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney. His Criminal
Defense website is http://www.masscriminaldefense.com.
For a Massachusetts criminal legal consultation, call him at (781)326-2700.
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