Examples of Legal Cases Defended by Mr. Budreau

United States District Court: In early 2008, Mr. Budreau was able to convince a jury that a defendant was not intending to distribute over 50 grams of cocaine base found in his apartment. If he had been found guilty, he would have been sentenced to a term of life without parole under the three strikes provision in federal court. The jury found him guilty of distributing under 50 grams instead-- subjecting him to a minimum penalty of 10 years under the federal drug statutes; thereby avoiding a life term of imprisonment.

United States District Court: Despite the fact that a federal jury convicted a client in early 2008 of joining a conspiracy to distribute over one kilo of drugs, Mr. Budreau convinced a federal judge that his client could only have foreseen that 100 grams were contained in the bag he was distributing. The defendant was convicted of acting as a courier and carrying a brief case containing 2 kilos of drugs. This decision relieved the defendant from a certain ten year minimum mandatory sentence.

United States District Court: In November 2007, Mr. Budreau convinced a federal judge to quash a grand jury subpoena seeking the password from a client's computer by forcing him to type it in rather than verbally provide it. The Court agreed with the defense and found that even typing it would be testimonial as the password is not a physical key but a mental image which deserves Fifth Amendment protections.

United States Court of Appeals (Conspiracy): In 2007, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a client's conviction for conspiracy and remanded for a new trial on the grounds that the prosecutor had made erroneous factual allegations during her rebuttal that likely poisoned the well of facts that the jury used in its deliberations. Mr. Budreau not only objected zealously during the trial to the prosecutor's improper statements but preserved the objection for appeal. On appeal, the Court agreed with Mr. Budreau's argument that the erroneous factual presentation undermined the core of his clients defense and that the trial judge's remedial instructions were insufficient to cure the taint.

Superior Court: Counsel successfully suppressed jail house letters intercepted by the homicide detectives on the grounds that the government acted outside the scope of the regulatory framework that permitted the jail to monitor jail house correspondence; thereby turning the monitoring into a search. The Court found that the detectives were acting to improve their case against the defendant which went beyond the scope of the regulation which permitted monitoring only when related to prison security. This constituted a Fourth Amendment violation and led to critical evidence being suppressed.

United States District Court (Conspiracy): In late 2006, a federal jury acquitted Mr. Budreau's client of all indictments including conspiring to distribute and smuggle over 12,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States. The government's evidence included numerous cooperating witnesses who testified that the defendant was one of their major suppliers, bank records showing almost $600,000 in cash deposits going into the defendant's bank accounts, telephone records tying him to the co-conspirators and border crossing records that corresponded to a meeting allegedly designed to coordinate details of marijuana deliveries.

 

United States District Court (Conspiracy): Mr. Budreau argued that his client had ceased his criminal activities almost 4 years in advance of his arrest and had self rehabilitated. The court agreed and reduced defendant's guideline sentence from 31 months to probation so that he could continue running his construction business and provide for his family.

Superior Court (Homicide): Mr. Budreau's client was acquitted of all counts after six days of jury deliberations. The government had presented evidence from an accomplice witness and a bystander, both who knew the defendant, identifying him as the driver in a driveby shooting.

 

United States District Court (Conspiracy): Defendant was accused of trafficking in marijuana. Mr. Budreau was able to convince an United States Magistrate Judge that the government had failed to file a timely indictment and the complaint was dismissed. The defendant has never been charged again for this offense.

United States District Court (Marijuana Conspiracy): A federal judge granted Mr. Budreau's motion to dismiss an indictment alleging that the defendant had conspired to distribute over 1000 kilos of marijuana. The court ruled that the statute of limitations had run out and the government could not prosecute the defendant.

Superior Court (Trafficking) : Defendant was found not guilty of trafficking charges despite the fact that the police found 1/2 kilo of cocaine on a table in front of the defendant in his own home. Mr. Budreau argued to the jury that the cocaine was not his and that his alleged confession was fabricated by the police. Defense counsel employed the Thin Blue Line defense based upon a documentary of a man who was framed by the police for murder. If the defendant had been convicted of trafficking, the court would have had to impose a 15 year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment.

Superior Court (Possession of Fire Arm, Stolen Goods): Mr. Budreau successfully won an acquittal for this defendant on all charges. This defendant was found by the police with a gunshot wound and wearing one glove while the matching glove was discovered in the trigger of a gun thrown in the bushes. He was charged with carrying a firearm, stolen property and defacing a serial number off the gun and he was facing over 10 years in prison if convicted. Mr. Budreau discovered through his investigation that two hats were laying next to the site where the victim's blood was on the ground. This evidence contradicted crime scene photos, which showed only one hat, and police forensic reports which alleged that the defendant was shot from across the street. Mr. Budreau successfully argued that the defendant had not fired the gun, but instead, his glove was stuck in the gun's firing hammer because he had wrestled it from the shooter. He was acquitted of all charges.

Superior Court (Homicide): Mr. Budreau tried this murder case in Superior Court. The government presented evidence of two independent witness identifications and an informant's testimony that the defendant was the shooter, Mr. Budreau was able to convince the jury that he had been framed by the informant. The defendant was acquitted of all charges including first degree murder and armed robbery.

Superior Court (Trafficking): Mr. Budreau tried this cocaine trafficking case in Superior Court. The jury came back not guilty as to all charges after counsel put forth an actual innocence defense. Defendant, who had written scripts for Miami Vice, had allegedly come to Boston with a friend to make a film. The defense argued that the accused had no knowledge that his friend had hidden a kilo of cocaine in his hotel room closet. If the jury had convicted the defendant, the court would have been required to impose a minimum mandatory 15 year sentence.

Superior Court (Trafficking): Mr. Budreau filed a Motion for a New for two brother's convicted of trafficking cocaine. The motion was granted, their convictions reversed and their ten year minimum mandatory sentences were vacated. They then pled guilty to reduced time and were sentenced to time served.

United States District Court (Sec. 1001 Violation): Defendant's confession to federal agents was suppressed for all purposes after Mr. Budreau argued that his client's statement was elicited involuntarily. The suppression of this statement permitted counsel to negotiate a probationary sentence for his client.

United States District Court (Money Laundering): Mr. Budreau represented a real estate developer who was accused of laundering money. The client, who had been released on bail pending trial, eventually pled guilty and was sentenced to the time that he served while waiting to post bail.

United States District Court (Conspiracy): Defendant was found by the Probation Department to be a career offender and recommended a sentence of 15 years after he pled guilty to distributing cocaine. After hearing argument by Mr. Budreau, the United States District Court Judge concluded that the defendant's assault and battery charge did not qualify him as a career offender. Counsel then successfully convinced the court that it should further reduce his sentence from 11 years to approximately 6 years based upon extraordinary family circumstances.

District Court (OUI): Client's OUI case was dismissed after Mr. Budreau argued that there was insufficient evidence that the defendant, who was clearly intoxicated, was the driver of the vehicle.

District Court (Narcotics Distribution): Client was charged with distribution of drugs (facing a two year minimum mandatory sentence) after the police searched and found a number of bags of heroin in his undergarments. The police searched him after a woman was seen leaving his car clutching an object in her hand in a high drug area. The court dismissed the distribution counts after Mr. Budreau filed a motion arguing that it was equally plausible that the woman sold the drugs to the client and, consequently, the clerk should only have issued a complaint for possession. The Court agreed and dismissed the distribution counts.

District Court (Narcotics): Court suppressed drugs found on defendant during an automobile search that was initiated after the police frisked the client and found a folded knife on his person. After a full day of evidentiary hearings, the Court ruled that the police did not have reasonable suspicion to believe that the defendant was committing a crime. Therefore, the search was illegal, the evidence suppressed and the case dismissed.

Superior Court (Homicide): In a first degree murder case, where a client was facing life without parole if convicted, Mr. Budreau successfully suppressed a portion of Defendant's statement after an evidentiary hearing. As a result, a plea to manslaughter was negotiated and the client was only required to serve five more years.

Appeals Court (Narcotics Trafficking): The Appeals Court reversed the trial court's denial of the appellant's Motion for a New Trial after Mr. Budreau drafted a brief attacking the government's use of an informant during trial. The Appeals Court agreed that the defendant was unfairly precluded from presenting exculpatory evidence and remanded the case back to the Suffolk County Superior Court for further hearing. The defendant, who was represented by different counsel at trial, received a 10 year minimum mandatory sentence after his original conviction. The remand from the Appeals Court will hopefully result in the reversal of this conviction.

District Court (Assault and Battery): Defendant was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after a man was kicked in the head during an argument. The Brookline District Court granted Mr. Budreau's Motion to Dismiss after he argued that the defendant was charged based upon totem pole hearsay evidence and that no one specifically identified him during a clerk magistrate's complaint hearing. The presiding Judge referred to this case as a Kafka experience for the defendant.

District Court (Assault and Battery): Defendant was accused of assault and battery. During his investigation Mr. Budreau discovered a previously undisclosed 911 tape, which demonstrated that the alleged victim was identified as the batterer. As a result, Mr. Budreau moved for trial and the defendant was found not guilty of all charges by a judge in the Malden District Court.

District Court (Rape): The accused was charged with rape and the District Attorney's Office was pursuing an indictment. After an exhaustive investigation, Mr. Budreau was able to convince the District Attorney's Office that the defendant was innocent and that the victim was lying. The Court dismissed the case on a motion by the Commonwealth and the case was sealed protecting the accused's record forever.

District Court (embezzlement): One of two counts of embezzlement was dismissed by the district court after Mr. Budreau filed a Motion to Dismiss arguing that the bank's signature card was not available to corroborate whether the signature on the withdrawal slip was a forgery.

United States District Court (Marijuana Conspiracy): This man pled guilty to trafficking marijuana and was facing 27 months in prison according to the sentencing guidelines. Mr. Budreau was able to convince a federal judge that the defendant's conduct was aberrant and that he was not a recidivist. The court sentenced him to six months of community confinement.

Superior Court (Kidnapping): Defendant was charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. After mediation with the prosecutor and the court, the charges were reduced to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The defendant received probation.

County Superior Court (Larceny): This case involved the state prosecution of a lawyer for larceny of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Defendant ultimately pled guilty to larceny of client funds. Despite allegations that he misappropriated large sums of clients' funds, Mr. Budreau convinced a judge that a one year sentence was appropriate. He was paroled after six months.

Environmental Case (Illegal Disposal of Waste): Despite client's business being caught in the act (on film) of illegally disposing waste materials, Mr. Budreau pushed for trial and convinced a judge that the government's request for over a million dollars in fines was outrageous. A civil settlement agreement was reached for $135,000 instead, and no criminal charges were ever brought despite the existence of several witnesses who had given depositions that that the company had been engaged in such illegal conduct for years.

United States District Court (Trafficking): Mr. Budreau drafted a brief arguing that this defendant's involvement in a multi kilo deal of cocaine was aberrant and based upon his addiction to gambling. Using forensic evidence and psychiatrists developed by Mr. Budreau, a federal judge agreed to reduce the accused's guideline sentence from 72 months to 17 months or time served. Mr. Iaconetti was freed that day and returned to Canada without further incident.

Superior Court (Trafficking): The defendant was accused of trafficking cocaine and was facing a 10 year minimum mandatory sentence. After a long investigation, it was discovered that the federal government had illegally withheld evidence that the informant in the case had tortured other drug dealers in his efforts to collect debts. Faced with this evidence of prosecutorial wrongdoing, the district attorney's office and judge agreed to a 2 year sentence for the defendant given this discovery and given the fact that Mr. Budreau had already raised a defense that this informant had coerced the defendant into the deal through force. The defendant, who had been held without bail, served a few more months and was paroled after serving a total of one year.