Firm News & Cases

Representative Criminal Cases

• Our client was arrested outside his home and charged with OUI and leaving the scene of an accident. He submitted to a breath test which indicated a blood alcohol level of .24 percent. At trial, we successfully argued that the prosecution could not prove that our client had driven while impaired nor that he fled the scene of an accident. The jury acquitted him of all charges.
• Our client was arrested and charged with OUI after submitting to a breath test performed using an Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test machine (the most common testing machine used in most states), which produced a result of .20 blood alcohol level. We successfully persuaded the court to order the prosecution to disclose the source code for the Intoxilyzer 8000, along with other software information, which the manufacturer had previously refused to disclose under the guise of "trade secrets." The prosecution was unable to produce this information and the breath test results were suppressed. The case was dismissed prior to trial.
• In a case in which our client was charged with possession of several controlled substances, the arresting officer lied on the stand during a jury trial. We were able to successfully impeach the officer using his prior testimony. The government immediately dismissed all charges prior to submitting the case to the jury. The police officer was subsequently prosecuted for perjury.
• Our client was pulled over after police received an anonymous phone call alleging that she was speeding. She was arrested and charged with OUI and possession of cocaine. All evidence was suppressed by the court, forcing the government to dismiss the case, after we successfully argued that our client was illegally stopped by the police.
• Our client was found asleep in a parked car with the engine running. He was arrested and charged with OUI. We filed a Motion to Suppress arguing that the client was illegally arrested. The government dismissed the case before the motion was litigated.
• Our client was stopped by police for failure to maintain a single lane and charged with possession of controlled substances and with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. All evidence was suppressed by the court after we argued that police had no legal basis to pull him over.
• Police stopped our client outside their jurisdiction. The car was searched and large amounts of drugs were found, resulting in charges of drug distribution. We filed a motion to suppress arguing that police in this case were not in "fresh pursuit," and therefore, lacked legal authority to detain our client outside of their jurisdiction. The court suppressed all evidence and the government appealed the court's ruling. The appellate court agreed with our position and with the trial court's ruling. The case was eventually dismissed.
• In an OUI prosecution, we moved for the suppression of breath test results, arguing that police had improperly coerced our client into taking the breath test by misstating the law. The court suppressed the breath test results and the case was dropped to a minor civil traffic infraction.

Representative Family Law Cases

• In a divorce after a long-term marriage with marital assets of over a million dollars, secured more than half of the assets for the long-time homemaker spouse, and, in addition, a substantial alimony award.
• In a divorce of a second marriage for both parties, one of whom was a professor at a major teaching hospital and the other a professor at a local university, secured a fair division of the multimillion dollar estate by overcoming false allegations of abusive treatment during the marriage.
• In a divorce after a medium-term marriage with millions of dollars in assets, secured an even division of the assets between the parties, after significant discovery and valuation to ensure that the opposing spouse was properly declaring the value of the assets.
• In a divorce after a long-term marriage in which one spouse was part-owner of a large company, and the parties owned multiple real estate properties and financial accounts totaling millions of dollars, counsel conducted significant discovery and analysis to prove the actual value of the properties, and secured a fair division of the marital assets based on those true values.
• In an action for modification of a child support order, counsel secured a substantial reduction due to the children's determination not to live with the custodial parent during their college years. Counsel further defended the non-custodial parent against a meritless contempt complaint.
• In a divorce between a highly paid medical professional and a custodial parent who stayed home with the parties' learning disabled child, counsel secured a five figure monthly alimony/child support combined payment during the initial divorce action, and defended it repeatedly in contempt and modification actions over a multi-year period thereafter in both the trial and appeals court, winning multiple substantial fee awards in the process.
• In an international child custody case, counsel defended a foreign national and a foreign court's determination of a divorce action against a challenge asserting that Massachusetts was the proper forum for the divorce determination.
• Defended a claim for substantial alimony arrears that occurred over a period of many years and successfully negotiated a fair settlement which included the termination of future alimony.
• Successfully litigated removal cases where custodial parent was looking to remove school-age children from Massachusetts to another state.
• Successfully secured the dismissal of a complaint for modification and was awarded fees on appeal where the moving spouse did not show a reduction of income or other material change in circumstances since the time of the divorce.

Cunha & Holcomb, P.C.
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