Attorney Smith is the author of “Warrantless Search and Seizure” in the award-winning legal reference manual, Trying Drug Cases in Massachusetts, published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education of Boston. This reference work is widely consulted by defense lawyers and prosecutors in Massachusetts. He has also served as editorial consultant to MCLE in the past in similar such legal reference works as Trying Sex Offense Cases in Massachusetts (2001 edition) and Massachusetts Evidence: A Courtroom Reference (2001 edition). Attorney Smith has additionally written about Massachusetts history, including recently, for example, his piece, “Holden and the Great New England Earthquake of 1755” in CentralMassNews.com. He is also a highly-requested speaker in the legal field (see “Speaking Engagements” menu).

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A small sample of some of his published appellate cases of note includes:

Schechter v. Schechter (Massachusetts Appeals Court, September 9, 2015) (Landmark case in which the Appeals Court overturned the probate court’s prior order against our client’s parental rights, holding that a probate court judge may not unilaterally delegate to the custodial parent the decision of whether that custodial parent may remove the couple’s child out of Massachusetts)

Commonwealth v. Thomas (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2014) (the Court overturned the defendant’s first degree murder conviction, agreeing with Attorney Smith that the police violated his client’s Miranda rights during her interrogation)

Commonwealth v. Junior Nanny, (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2012) (Prosecutors may not sidestep the legal requirement of a preliminary transfer hearing in juvenile prosecutions by seeking a grand jury indictment instead)

Commonwealth v. Lora, 451 Mass. 425 (2008) (Landmark case defining the legal standard to be applied in racial profiling automobile stop claims, and accepting that statistical evidence is, in fact, relevant and admissible in support of such claims)

Commonwealth v. Brazeau, 64 Mass. App. Ct. 65 (2005) (Holding for the first time that the police may not lawfully stop a motorist for the reason that he or she has small objects dangling from the car’s rearview mirror)

Doe 3844 v. Sex Offender Registry Board, 447 Mass. 768 (2006) (First case to address the issue of the constitutionality of the statutory and regulatory hearings procedures set forth in th Massachusetts Sex Offender law)

Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 75 Mass. App. Ct. 235 (2009) (First reported Mass. case to vacate conviction on the weight element in drug trafficking case in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Melendez-Diaz)

Commonwealth v. LaPlante, 73 Mass. App. Ct. 199 (2007) (First case to address the issue of what constitutes legally sufficient evidence under Massachusetts’ new enticement statute)

Commonwalth v. McCrae, 54 Mass. App. Ct. 27 (2002) (Holding that it constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel to try to defend a case on a defense that is not legally recognized under state law)

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