Domestic Violence Hearings / 58a Hearings
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Domestic Violence Hearings / 58a Hearings
A 58A Hearing is a Dangerousness Hearing in which the Court will conduct a hearing to establish whether a Defendant is a danger to a particular individual or the community as a whole. One recent change to the law is that the detention period has been increased from 90 days to 120 days. That means if a Judge finds that someone is a danger and that there are no conditions of release that could satisfy the public’s safety, that person can be held for up to 120 days while awaiting trial. Since the revamping of the Domestic Violence Laws, prosecutors have been filing more Motions to hold Defendants pursuant to Chapter 58A. Additionally, holding someone in jail for 120 days can be used as leverage from a prosecutor’s prospective, because it can force a Defendant to Plead Guilty in order to avoid having to spend 120 days in jail. The 58A Hearing can be used as the proverbial carrot that gets dangled in front of a Defendant’s face and gets him to take a conviction, as opposed to fighting his case at trial.
A 58A Hearing can be conducted as a mini-trial. Both the Prosecutor and Defendant will be afforded the opportunity to call witnesses to testify. These witnesses can be crossed examined, and oftentimes this is beneficial to the defense because a witnesses’ inconsistent testimony to the facts, other witnesses’ testimony or physical evidence can be locked in. Locked in, under oath and used to help the Defendant at trial. This is why it is so import to have an experienced attorney represent you at the 58A Hearing, because a lot of times the case can be minimized and your freedom won at that point.
If you have been charged with a Domestic Violence Charge and there has been a Motion for a 58A Dangerousness Hearing contact experienced Massachusetts Domestic Violence Attorney Paul R. Moraski today at (978) 744 – 1200.