Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Re: After a charge has been amended during pretrial can it be raised again?

Because Rape is not what is called a "lesser included offense" of indecent assault and battery the Commmonwealth could not, in my opinion, amend the Complaint to include Rape. In any event it would be highly unusual for the government to do that.

The Commonwealth could still indict you to Superior Court on a rape charge even though it was dismissed in District Court. Again it would be highly unusual for the DA's Office to change its mind after deciding to reduce the charge, but it is both permissable and possible. This happened to a client of mine last week. There is really nothing you can do to stop this from happening.

Traditionally prosecutors will reduce charges for a number of reasons, such as a weak case for the government, a defendant w/ little or no record, a charge that is not really serious enough to warrant a Superior Court prosecution, or a combination of all these reasons. Because Superior Court cases can drag on for a year or more and suck up lots of prosecutorial resources, DA's Offices carefully screen which cases they indict. They look for the most serious crimes, the strongest cases and the "worst" defendants, in terms of criminal records.

Reduction of the charge is completely w/in the discretion of the prosecutor and your lawyer has no say in the decision, other than advocating the reasons why it makes sense.

I hope this answers your question.

Re: After a charge has been amended during pretrial can it be raised again?

I agree with Mr. Kidd.

This may be that the evidence was such that the DA believed that this is what they can prove. It may also be that they did not want to expose their case at this time, a situation that would have been required in a probable cause hearing.

Yes, the DA can either indict you later, or even file the same or similar charges against you.

If you are being represented by a lawyer this is something that should be discussed. If you are not being represented by a lawyer, GET ONE!!

If all you are doing is seeking is a second opinion, the combined information should do the job.

If you have any other questions, you can contact me.