The PROTECT Act is law. I fought hardest for one thing: the protected zone cannot end at the courthouse walls. Protection inside means nothing if ICE waits on the sidewalk. When witnesses won't testify and victims won't report, that isn't access to justice. Massachusetts chose courage over fear.

Fauci pleaded the Fifth 100+ times this week and people are calling it a confession. It isn't. He didn't say "I'm guilty." He said "I won't hand the government evidence it can use against me." Those are not the same thing. I tell clients this daily: even helpful information is dangerous. Say "it was self defense" and you've admitted you were there and did it. Now the only fight left is whether it was justified. Innocent people confess to crimes they didn't commit. It's documented. Talking is how a lot of them got there. Don't hand over the roadmap. Refusing isn't guilt. It's smart. youtube.com/watch?v=hF89WoQT…

A road rage case where the other driver said our client pointed a gun at him. The allegation, if charged, would have ended the LTC, threatened a felony conviction, and lived on his record forever. We did the investigation work that had not been done. The clerk magistrate declined to issue the complaint. The case never existed.

Proud to share that ES Legal was named one of Lawyerist's Best Law Firm Websites of 2026. We never wanted to just take up space online. We built our site to help people searching for answers during some of the hardest moments of their lives. Thank you to @lawyerist and to the team at @blusharkdigital. lawyerist.com/news/best-law-…

How we explain probable cause at a clerk magistrate hearing: It’s the 40-yard line. Not a touchdown. Not the red zone. Not even the 50. Just close enough that the magistrate can say there’s a real possibility it happened and you did it. Which is why the real strategy isn’t what most people think. es.legal/articles/clerk-magi…

"For a non-citizen defendant, the right to remain in the United States may be more important than any jail sentence." Mass. SJC, Lavrinenko, 473 Mass. 42. Defense lawyers should read it that way too. es.legal/articles/immigratio…

The Massachusetts Senate is debating the PROTECT Act this week. In plain English: ICE would need a judicial warrant before arresting someone inside a state courthouse. House passed 134-21 in March. Watch this space.

Three takeaways from Commonwealth v. Mallory (No. 2): 1. Officer time sheets are public records. Get them. 2. Staleness runs to execution, not issuance. The seven-day rule is necessary, not sufficient. 3. Newly discovered evidence does not require a counsel of perfection. es.legal/articles/when-the-w…

What does a criminal defense lawyer do? We protect people's civil liberties from government overreach. In ordinary years, that sounds abstract. In these days, it does not.

"First they came for the immigrants, and we fought back, because we read the rest of the poem." Nobody should take comfort from not being today's target. That's today.

New SJC decision today: Commonwealth v. Arias. Drug unit follows a man for six miles. He runs a stop sign. Officer decides not to stop him. Twenty-four hours later, same officer radios: "We're looking to stop a vehicle for a drug investigation." Uses yesterday's stop sign as the legal basis. SJC: no. A traffic violation cannot hang over a suspect indefinitely until police decide it is convenient to use it. Conviction vacated. Article 14 means something in Massachusetts.

Body worn cameras were sold as tools for accountability. They work in both directions. When an officer’s testimony at trial does not match what the camera recorded that night, cross examination writes itself. Not guilty. OUI. Newburyport.