Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer Blog
TL, a police officer at a nearby university, lived in a second floor condo with his girlfriend in North Andover. A woman with a young child lived above TL in her own condo. TL worked nights and slept during a portion of the day. The noise coming from upstairs was extremely bothersome to TL. According to the upstairs neighbor TL would bang on the walls and yell profanity upstairs for the noise to stop. This yelling and banging, according to the upstairs tenant, went on for months and frightened the tenant. On October 16, 2022 the upstairs tenant came down to the second floor and knocked on TL’s door. TL answered the door and an argument ensued. According to the upstairs tenant, TL grabbed her by the neck and shoved her up against the wall. TL’s girlfriend separated them. The upstairs tenant went back upstairs and called the police. The tenant was granted an emergency Harassment Prevention Order with a court date of October 31, 2022. TL sought out a lawyer and met with and hired Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.
Attorney Lewin immediately spotted a big hole in the Harassment Prevention Order case against TL. The law requires that there be 3 or more separate events of harassment before an order can be granted. In her Affidavit the tenant wrote a great deal about the alleged assault on October 16, 2022. She described other incidents where TL had yelled from his unit and has used profanity. Attorney Lewin had prepared and filed a Memorandum for the Judge to read. In his Memorandum Attorney Lewin stressed the requirement that there be THREE separate acts of willful and malicious conduct.
On October 31, 2022 Attorney Lewin, TL, TL’s girlfriend, and the upstairs tenant all appeared in Lawrence District Court for the hearing on whether or not the Harassment Prevention Order should be extended. The Judge immediately picked up on the issue that Attorney Lewin had raised in his Memorandum and the Judge questioned the tenant about any incidents other than the alleged assault on October 16, 2022.
At the completion of the tenant’s testimony the Judger vacated (canceled) the Harassment Prevention Order forthwith (immediately).
Attorney Robert Lewin has an enviable record of defeating Harassment Prevention Orders. He wins a great number of these cases because he knows the law and he thoroughly prepares the cases.