New court data confirms what many lawyers have long suspected: Hiring an attorney can significantly increase your chances of avoiding criminal charges in Massachusetts.
show defendants with an attorney were 42% more likely to avoid being charged with a crime in clerk magistrate hearings, where clerks decide behind closed doors whether to issue criminal charges in Massachusetts.
"I don't think the clerks go out of their way to treat people better simply because they have an attorney," Elikann said."But an attorney can often just present their side with more experience. They're not emotionally involved. They're not nervous when they get in front of a clerk magistrate." The court data, covering hearings held in 2020, sheds new light on an obscure part of the Massachusetts criminal justice system. Clerks hold thousands of the hearings a year. But most of the hearings are closed. And the documents' aren't usually public unless clerks decide to issue charges. So the numbers provide a window into how the process operates.
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