Criminal Defense

Felony charges are the most serious offenses prosecuted in Massachusetts, and a conviction can reshape the course of a person’s life. Marc has represented individuals charged with serious felony offenses, including Money Laundering, Mail Fraud, RICO offenses, Larceny, Kidnapping, Weapons Offenses, Drug Distribution, and Auto Theft.

In Massachusetts, a felony is any offense punishable by a sentence to state prison, and these are the most serious matters the criminal courts handle. But the sentence itself is only part of the picture. A felony conviction produces “collateral consequences” that can follow a person for the rest of their life, long after any incarceration or probation has ended—which is why mounting an effective defense from the very beginning is so important.

The effects reach into nearly every part of life. A felony conviction appears on your CORI and can be a serious obstacle to employment, professional licensing, and housing. It can disqualify you from lawfully owning or possessing a firearm under both state and federal law. In Massachusetts, a felony conviction requires you to submit a DNA sample, which is entered into a database accessible to law enforcement across the country. Some felony records can eventually be sealed after a waiting period, but that period is significantly longer than for misdemeanors, and certain felony offenses cannot be sealed at all.

Because the consequences are so far-reaching and so difficult to undo, the goal in a felony case is not simply to minimize a sentence—it is, wherever possible, to avoid the felony conviction itself. Marc approaches these cases with that priority in mind. He examines whether the search, seizure, or arrest complied with constitutional requirements, whether the evidence genuinely supports each element of the charge, and whether the case can be resolved through dismissal, a reduction to a lesser non-felony offense, or acquittal at trial. With experience defending complex felony matters in both the state and federal systems, Marc Salinas gives clients facing the most serious charges a defense built around protecting their freedom and their future.

Misdemeanor charges are among the most commonly filed in Massachusetts, and while they may sound minor, they can carry serious and lasting consequences. Marc has defended clients against a wide range of misdemeanor charges—including Operating Under the Influence (OUI), Assault and Battery, Drug Possession, Abuse Prevention Order violations, Resisting Arrest, and Disorderly Conduct—securing not guilty findings and outright dismissals.

Massachusetts does not divide crimes into misdemeanors and felonies the way many people assume. Rather than labeling offenses, the law looks to the possible punishment: an offense that can be punished by a sentence to state prison is a felony, while an offense that cannot is a misdemeanor. As a result, some charges that sound minor still carry the possibility of jail time in a house of correction, and a misdemeanor conviction creates a permanent entry on your Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI)—a record that landlords, employers, and licensing boards may be able to see.

For non-citizens, the stakes can be especially high. Immigration consequences do not depend on the misdemeanor label; they depend on how federal immigration law classifies the specific offense and its disposition. Certain misdemeanor convictions—and in some cases even admissions or continuances—can expose a lawful permanent resident or visa holder to removal proceedings, denial of naturalization, or inadmissibility. A plea that seems advantageous in criminal court can be devastating in immigration court, which is why these cases require careful, coordinated handling from the outset.

It is also worth understanding that a misdemeanor conviction need not follow you forever. Under Massachusetts law, many misdemeanor records become eligible to be sealed after a waiting period following the completion of the case, and some offenses may even qualify for expungement in limited circumstances. Sealing can meaningfully improve access to housing and employment. Marc helps clients understand exactly what a given charge means for their record, their immigration status, and their future—and works to achieve dismissals, not guilty findings, or dispositions that preserve eligibility for sealing down the road. Where a client already carries an old conviction, he can advise on whether it qualifies to be sealed or expunged.

Massachusetts imposes some of the harshest penalties in the nation for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A conviction can mean significant fines, the loss of your license, and lasting consequences that follow you well beyond the courtroom. Marc has successfully defended individuals accused of OUI by scrutinizing the basis for the stop or arrest, identifying violations of his clients’ constitutional rights, and challenging unreliable or improperly administered alcohol testing procedures.

The penalties escalate sharply with each subsequent OUI charge. One feature that surprises many drivers is the Commonwealth’s lifetime “lookback” period: unlike states that only count prior offenses within a fixed window, Massachusetts counts every prior OUI, no matter how many years ago it occurred. A charge that would otherwise be a first offense can therefore be prosecuted as a second offense based on a conviction from decades earlier.

A first-offense OUI is punishable by a fine, a potential jail sentence, and a license suspension that can last up to a year. Nonetheless, OUI trials are among the most common cases in Massachusetts district court, and they are genuinely difficult for prosecutors to win. Even if convicted at trial, the sentence is often not significantly harsher than a pre-trial disposition. Many first-time offenders are eligible for an alternative disposition - often referred to as the “24D” program - which typically involves a period of probation, a shorter license suspension, completion of a court-approved alcohol education program, and statutory fines and fees. A hardship or “Cinderella” license may be available to allow limited driving during the suspension period.

A second offense is treated far more seriously. The key variable is how long ago the first offense occurred. While jail time is possible, most judges will impose an “alternative disposition” instead that includes a 14-day inpatient alcohol program, aftercare, and probation. Whether jail is imposed often depends on the specific facts of your case. Even after a guilty verdict at trial, many judges opt for the inpatient program and probation over incarceration. If your first offense was more than 10 years ago, you may qualify for a First Offender’s Disposition, which carries far lighter penalties.

Because the consequences compound so quickly, the early stages of an OUI case matter enormously. Marc reviews every aspect of the stop, the arrest, and the evidence: whether police had a lawful reason to pull you over, whether your rights were violated during questioning and booking, and whether testing was conducted properly. He also helps clients navigate the Registry of Motor Vehicles process, pursue hardship licenses, and - where appropriate - position a case for an alternative disposition that protects your record and your ability to drive.

Breath test evidence often appears decisive, but in Massachusetts it has proven far more vulnerable than prosecutors would like. In recent years, serious problems with the Commonwealth’s breath testing program - including questions about device calibration, certification, and the handling of records by the Office of Alcohol Testing - have led courts to exclude breath test results in large numbers of cases. That history is a reminder that a breathalyzer reading is only as reliable as the equipment, the procedures, and the personnel behind it.

Marc examines the complete record behind any breath test offered against his clients - the device’s maintenance and certification history, the administering officer’s credentials, and whether the testing protocol was followed step by step. Where the evidence does not meet the standards Massachusetts law requires, he moves to suppress it, which can substantially weaken or completely unravel the Commonwealth’s case.

Sobriety checkpoints - sometimes called field sobriety checkpoints or roadblocks - are permitted in Massachusetts, but only under tightly defined conditions. Because a checkpoint stops drivers who have given police no individualized reason for suspicion, the courts have allowed them only where law enforcement follows strict safeguards designed to limit officer discretion and protect against arbitrary stops.

Those safeguards include advance planning and supervisory approval, public notice of the checkpoint, a predetermined and neutral formula for which vehicles are stopped, and operation according to written guidelines. When police depart from these requirements—by improvising which cars to pull over, failing to follow the approved plan, or operating the checkpoint without proper authorization—the stop itself may be unlawful. And if the initial stop is unlawful, the evidence gathered afterward, including observations and test results, may be subject to suppression.

Marc closely reviews how a checkpoint was authorized and conducted, obtaining the operational plans and guidelines and comparing them against what actually happened on the night of the arrest. Where police failed to honor the constitutional limits that make checkpoints permissible in the first place, he challenges the stop directly—often through a motion to suppress that can be decisive to the outcome of the case.