Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Re: Please define?

With respect to a "he said, she said" situation, the police will generally look at the totality of the circumstances to try to determine if either the "he" or the "she" is more likely telling the truth. For example, if "she" says, "he hit me" and she has a bloody nose to back up her allegation, the police would likely be more inclined to believe her. (Of course, this would be true even if "she" got the bloody nose because she was the aggressor and actually attacked him, and he accidentally struck her nose as he tried to defend himself.) Another example would be if the police have prior experience with the "he" or "she" to help inform their observations. In reality, a lot of different factors can come into play, and it depends a great deal on the particular observations and judgment of the police officers on the scene.

Re: Please define?

Probable cause can have various meanings depending upon the circumstance it is used in. With regard to an arrest probable cause refers to the level of evidence which would lead a person of reasonable prudence to believe that the person they are confronting probably committed a crime.

In a he said, she said situation, if one person makes allegations, unless the officer has a factual basis to believe that that person is lying, he has probable cause. If the allegations are any sort of abuse, he basically has to arrest.

These cases are very defensible however. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Re: Please define?

Retain a competent Criminal Defense attorney to defend whomever has been charged on the presumed basis that the responding police officers believe there existed sufficient probable cause to believe that the crime charged actually occurred, which means that, in their estimation, it was more likely than not that the offense alleged occurrred. Good Luck!

: Please define?

If you have questions, contact me. Talking to the police before talking to an attorney is not the thing to do under the facts you presented.