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Introduction to this case summary and a personal note from Attorney Robert Lewin: Attorney Robert Lewin became a lawyer in 1971. Forty years earlier in 1931 Attorney Robert Lewin’s father, Henry Lewin, became a lawyer. Henry Lewin practiced law until his death in 1987. One of the many lessons that father imparted to son was that a case well prepared was ninety percent won. Attorney Robert Lewin has made it his mission to ALWAYS be prepared when he walks into the courtroom. In addition, Attorney Robert Lewin always makes sure that the client is fully prepared for what lies ahead with their case. The case of DL which follows is an example of a case being won before trial by thorough preparation and by a lawyer and a client working closely together to get a desired result.

DL, a 37 year old male acupuncturist from Methuen, was in a relationship with a 41 year old male accountant from Waltham. The relationship turned stormy and a torrent of emails and texts were exchanged between the two men. The accountant, who had a flair for embellishment, went to Waltham District Court and applied for an Abuse Prevention Order against DL. The Judge in Waltham, based on the affidavit written by the accountant, granted the accountant an ex parte order. An ex parte order is an order that is granted without any notice being given to the other side. The order was faxed to the Methuen Police. The police then served the order on DL. Later in the day that the order was served on DL, DL went to the Methuen Police Department to show them messages that had been sent by the accountant to DL. DL left the police station with his phone in his pocket. Several hours later the Methuen Police went to DL’s home and arrested him for three counts of violating the Abuse Prevention Order.

According to the police report from the Waltham Police shortly after DL was served with the Abuse Prevention Order a call was sent from DL’s iPhone to his ex-boyfriend’s phone. Also according to the police report there was a text allegedly sent by DL to the ex-boyfriend from a phone number that the ex-boyfriend claimed that DL used. Lastly according to the police report there was a telephone call allegedly from from DL’s phone to the ex-boyfriend’s phone.

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This case goes under the heading of “Some guys just don’t know when to quit.” KQ, a 32 year old security guard, and his former girl friend (BG), a 30 year old nurse, had one child – a six month old daughter. In the late fall of 2016 their relationship came to an end. KQ was licensed in MA to carry a firearm and he lawfully possessed a gun. On December 17, 2016, KQ, unhappy with the breakup of their relationship, sent an angry text message to BG. In the text message he wrote: “If anything happens to my daughter, you and your partner will get shot.”. BG ignored the text. On February 21, 2017 KQ – still angry over the breakup of the relationship – went to BG’s house in Lawrence. BG tells him to leave and slaps him across the face. KQ goes to the Lawrence Police Department and makes a complaint against BG for an assault and battery! The police go to BG’s house and speak with her. She admits that she slapped him but then she shows the police the text message that he sent her back in December in which he threatened to shoot her. The police charge them both. They charge him with threat to kill and they charge her with assault and battery. KQ consults with and hires Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover.

Attorney Lewin and KQ had a lengthy discussion about KQ’s actions. It took a while but KQ finally acknowledged how stupid he was to put the threat in writing in a text message and how even more stupid he was to go to the police after BG slapped him across the face.

In any event both KQ and BG were arraigned in Lawrence District Court. BG retained an attorney whom Attorney Lewin knows well. Attorney Lewin called BG’s attorney and proposed that both KQ and BG would exercise their Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify against one another. This would make prosecution of either case very difficult for the state. BG’s attorney agreed.

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KD, a 50 year old electrician from Plaistow, NH, had been in an on again off again relationship with a woman from Pepperell, MA. She had a serious alcohol problem and every time he would break off the relationship she would do something crazy. On one occasion she reported to the police that he had sexually molested his 16 year old daughter who lived with him (he had legal custody). As a result of that report he was investigated by the police and the Department of Children & Families. He was completely cleared of those allegations. In the late fall of 2016 they broke up. On a night in February of 2017 she called him and told him that she had no food in the house and that she needed him to repair an electrical outlet for her. He told her he would come over to her apartment and that he would bring in Chinese food to eat and that he would fix the electrical outlet. KD went to her apartment (3rd floor walk-up) and brought  in a dinner of Chinese food and his electrical tools to fix the outlet. When he arived he put the food down on the table and went to fix the outlet. She had been drinking and she began to accuse him of sleeping with her sister and with whores. He picked up his tools and headed for the door. According to the police report she was standing in the doorway at the top of the flight of stairs from the third floor to the second floor when he shoved her down the stairs causing her to fall and break her ankle. The police report continued that he then stepped over her and left her there laying on the second floor landing with a broken ankle. A tenant on the second floor heard the noise and then came out onto the second floor landing and saw her laying on the floor in pain with a broken ankle. The police were called and responded to her apartment. The police took her statement and then called him and told him to report to the Pepperell Police Station. He refused. The police said they would get a warrant for his arrest.

The next morning KD went to Ayer District Court. He was booked in to Probation and then went into the Courtroom. She was present and had filed for an Abuse Prevention Order. After a lengthy hearing the judge denied her request for an Abuse Prevention Order. KD was arraigned. Bail was set at $2,500.00 which KD posted and the case was continued. KD then retained Attorney Robert Lewin of North Andover, MA to defend him in the Assault & Battery case.

In the meantime KD applied for a restraining order in NH against her. The order was granted and the girlfriend was served with the order. Thereafter she began calling him and texting him in violation of the order. As a result two criminal charges against her for Violating the Restraining Order were taken out in court in NH.

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On April 27, 2017, WO, a 26 year old warehouse worker from Haverhill, MA was arrested and charged with Domestic Assault & Battery on his girlfriend. WO works second shift at a warehouse and he got home on April 27, 2017 from work at about midnight. His girlfriend (who is also the mother of his two children) was asleep as were the children. WO suspected that she had been communicating with an old boyfriend. WO took his girlfriend’s cell phone and began to read through her recent text messages. Sure enough WO found intimate text conversations between his girlfriend and her (former) boyfriend. According to the police report WO went into the bedroom and woke his girlfriend up and pulled her out of bed and then proceeded to literally physically “throw” her out of the house. She ran to a local convenient store down the street and called 911. The police responded and then went into the house and spoke with WO. According to the police report WO told the police that yes he had woken her up but that when he confronted her about the text messages she struck him in the face and then he told her she had to leave. He denied striking her; he denied physically “throwing” her out of the house. Needless to say the police arrested WO.

WO consulted with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover. Attorney Lewin took a very detailed statement of the facts from WO. Attorney Lewin then set up an appointment to speak with WO’s girlfriend alone. She indicated to Attorney Lewin that she did not want to testify in the case against WO. Attorney Lewin explained that because she and WO were not married she did not have any spousal privilege to refuse to testify against WO; in other words that if she were called as a witness she could be forced to testify. Attorney Lewin also pointed out to the girlfriend that the police report stated that (according to WO) she had struck WO in the face. Attorney Lewin explained that this would provide her with a basis for exercising her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

WO’s case was set down for trial on August 22, 2017. Just before the trial date WO began to fear having a trial. He was afraid he would be convicted and sent to jail. Attorney Lewin explained that it was most unlikely that the case would go to trial because his girlfriend was going to exercise her Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify and Attorney Lewin was confident that the Judge would uphold the girlfriend’s exercise of the privilege. Attorney Lewin felt that without her testimony it would be very difficult for the state (the Commonwealth) to go forward.

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In December of 2016, WX, a 32 year old female nanny, with several client families in Andover, MA, was caught stealing from one of her client families. The family contacted the police. WX had been stealing expensive children’s clothing (with the tags still on them) from the family’s home and then selling the clothing online. The police filed an application for a criminal complaint for felony larceny over $250 against WX and the application was set up for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing at Lawrence District Court. It was critical for WX to avoid having a criminal record – especially for stealing – as virtually all her client families did criminal record checks on WX before hiring her. No one will hire a thief.

WX contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover, MA to represent her. Attorney Lewin spoke with the Andover PD police prosecutor to see if an agreement could be reached to avoid a criminal complaint from issuing. The prosecutor told Attorney Lewin that $1,700.00 worth of clothing had been stolen.

Fortunately for WX, the family from whom she stole loved her work as a nanny with the children. WX was patient, kind, instructive, and supportive with the children. The family was sad to have to fire her. Attorney Lewin explained to WX that if a criminal complaint was to be avoided – a long shot in this case – she would have to pay the $1,700.00 in restitution. WX asked if she could pay that over time; Attorney Lewin told WX that if she wanted to maximize her chances of making the case go away she would have to be prepared to pay the restitution in full on the day of the Court hearing.

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TK, a 52 year old sales manager at a car dealership in Burlington, MA, was charged with Larceny By Check Over $250 back in 2001 in Woburn District Court. The charge arose out of a series of bad checks that TK had written in 2001. The checks were written on a business account that TK had. The account had virtually no money in it. TK simply walked away from the case and a warrant for his arrest was issued. For some reason the Registry of Motor Vehicles did not pick up on the warrant until 2017 at which time the Registry revoked TK’s license. TK needed the license to work at the car dealership. TK contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover, MA.

Attorney Lewin went over to Woburn District Court and obtained copies of all the relevant court papers and police reports. From the police report Attorney Lewin was able to determine that the bank which was victimized in the case was no longer in business. Attorney Lewin approached the Assistant District Attorney in Woburn District Court and was able to furnish the Assistant District Attorney with evidence that the State (the Commonwealth) could not at this time successfully prosecute the case: the bank was no longer in business;  it would be virtually impossible to find the witnesses (16 years later); and no one could identify TK as the person who wrote the bad checks.

On July 31, 2017 TK and Attorney Lewin appeared in Woburn District Court. The case was called and the Assistant District Attorney stood up and told the Judge that the Commonwealth could not go forward with the case. The Judge looked over at Attorney Lewin and Attorney Lewin then moved (asked) for the warrant to be recalled and the case dismissed. The Judge granted Attorney Lewin’s motion (request). The warrant was recalled (cancelled) and the charges against TK were dismissed.

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KH, a 54 year old landscaper living now in Vermont, was arrested in Lawrence, MA in 2003 and charged with Unlawful Possession of Heroin, Conspiracy to Violate the Controlled Substance Act, and Operating After Revocation of License, 2nd Offense. KH failed to appear in Lawrence District Court following his arrest and a default warrant issued for his arrest. KH left Massachusetts and moved to Vermont. Vermont revoked his right to drive and told him he could not get a Vermont license until his revocation in Massachusetts was cleared. In order to clear his Massachusetts revocation KH had to get the warrant in Lawrence District Court cleared. KH contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover, MA.

Attorney Lewin went over to the Court and obtained copies of all the relevant papers in KH’s case (the Court Docket, the Criminal Complaint, the Police Report, and a copy of KH’s Criminal Record). When Attorney Lewin read the police report he recognized the name of the arresting officer and was aware of the fact that the arresting officer had been fired from the police department for misconduct. The police report did mention that a second officer had assisted in the arrest. That second officer was still around. Attorney Lewin met with the Assistant District Attorney at Lawrence District Court and discussed the case at length. The DA’s Office took the position that KH should not be rewarded for “skipping town” for 14 years and they refused to dismiss the case in his absence.

On September 25, 2017 KH came down to Massachusetts and KH and Attorney Lewin went into Lawrence District Court. KH was booked into Probation and then KH and Attorney Lewin went into the First Criminal Session to address the warrant and the case. Attorney Lewin was prepared to address the court when the Assistant District Attorney stood up and told the Judge that the DA’s Office could not go forward because the officer was no longer available. Attorney Lewin then moved to have the warrant recalled (cancelled) and the case dismissed. The Judge granted Attorney Lewin’s motion (request) and ordered the warrant cancelled and the case dismissed.

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TD, a 52 year old machinist from Haverhill, is married with two children. On June 4, 4017 TD and his wife and children went to a Burger King for lunch and then to the movies at the Loop in Methuen. TD works third shift and typically goes to sleep around 1-2:00 pm. When they all left the movies his wife said they had to go to the supermarket. TD reminded her that he had to go to sleep to be able to get up to go to work. An argument broke out between the two of them; she was driving the family car and she began to poke TD with her right hand. He put his hand up to block her and pushed her right hand away causing it to bruise. She drove to the Haverhill Police Department and went inside and reported to the police that her husband had just assaulted her. The police came out of the station and questioned TD and then arrested him and charged him with a domestic assault & battery. His wife also took out an emergency restraining order against him. The next morning TD appeared in Haverhill District Court; his wife was also present. Her temporary restraining order was extended for one year and TD was ordered out of the house. He was arraigned on the assault & battery charge and that case was continued for a pre-trial hearing to a date in July.

TD then met with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover. Attorney Lewin took a very detailed statement of the facts from TD. It was apparent that TD’s wife had herself committed an assault and battery against TD. TD went and applied for a criminal complaint against his wife. This leveled the playing field in this battle between TD and his wife. It was clear that TD’s wife would not exercise her marital privilege. She wanted to testify and she wanted the case against him prosecuted. By TD’s applying for a criminal complaint against his wife, she was now at risk of being prosecuted herself.

TD’s case was then continued for trial to September 26, 2017. On September 26, 2017 TD and Attorney Lewin appeared in Court ready for trial. When the case was called Attorney Lewin told the Judge that there was a criminal proceeding pending against TD’s wife and that she had a Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify in this case. At Attorney Lewin’s urging the Judge appointed a lawyer to speak with TD’s wife and explain to her that if she did testify in the case against TD she could very well incriminate herself. After about 30 minutes of consulting with the court appointed lawyer TD’s wife decided that she would not testify against her husband. The Assistant District Attorney then announced that without her testimony the DA’s Office could not go forward. Attorney Lewin then requested that the criminal charges against TD be dismissed. The Judge then ordered the case dismissed.

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MW and her husband SW own a condominium unit in Ipswich. Their unit is one of eight units in this small complex. MW served as president of the condominium association. One of the owners in the association, KN, was very difficult. She paid her condo fees late; she abused her parking privileges; and she committed other violations of the rules and regulations of the condominium association. As president of the condominium association it was MW’s job to enforce the rules. MW sent KN a series of emails and called her as well to get her to comply. On August 30, 2017 KN went to Ipswich District Court (now in Newburyport) and applied for an Harassment Protection Order against MW and her husband SW. The Court sent out a Notice to MW and SW that there would be a hearing on September 15, 2017 at which hearing the Judge would decide whether or not to issue an order against either or both MW and SW.

MW and SW met with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover. After reviewing the Complaints for Protection from Harassment and KN’s Affidavits and after having taken a detailed statement of the facts from MW and SW, Attorney Lewin was very confident that there was absolutely no basis whatsoever for the court to grant an order. MW and SW were great clients. They furnished Attorney Lewin with copies of all the condominium documents and all the email correspondence between them and KN. It was abundantly clear that all the emails and all the contact between MW, SW, and KN grew out of and concerned legitimate condominium business. Attorney Lewin thoroughly prepared MW and SW for the hearing. He went over their testimony with them in great detail.

On September 15, 2017 Attorney Lewin and MW and SW appeared at the Court ready for the hearing. KN was present as well. The case was called. KN testified. The Judge could see that there was no harassment here, that all the contact between MW and SW with KN had to do with legitimate condominium business. At the conclusion of the hearing the Judge said he was dismissing KN’s applications for harassment prevention orders immediately.

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On November 4, 1988, HT, a then 21 year old fellow from Cambridge, walked into a bank and presented a check to the teller to be cashed. The check was made out to HT. Unfortunately the signature on the check had been forged. The teller suspecting there was a problem with the check alerted the branch manager who in turn notified the police. The police responded to the bank and HT was arrested and charged with forgery and uttering (trying to pass) a forged check. Both charges are felonies. HT was bailed out and then left Massachusetts. He failed to appear in Court. A subsequent criminal complaint was taken out against HT for Failing to Appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest on that charge as well.

Twenty-nine years passed. HT married and now has six children and nine grandchildren. HT lives in Wyoming and is a truck driver. The warrants finally caught up with HT and Wyoming suspended his license due to the outstanding warrants in Massachusetts. HT contacted Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover, MA. HT retained Attorney Lewin. Attorney Lewin went over to Cambridge District Court (now in Medford) and reviewed all the Court papers. It became immediately clear to Attorney Lewin that the Commonwealth could not prove either case against HT. The bank closed decades ago and all the witness would be long gone. Attorney Lewin approached the Assistant District Attorney and she agreed to a dismissal of the charges.

On August 16, 2017 Attorney Lewin had the case put on the Court list for hearing that day. Attorney Lewin prepared a Motion to Excuse HT from appearing in Court. Attorney Lewin appeared before the Judge without HT. The Judge granted Attorney Lewin’s Motion and ordered the warrants against HT recalled (canceled) and the Judge ordered all the charges against HT dismissed without any court costs.

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