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Police dogs have been helping the police and other law enforcement agencies for decades in the government's criminal prosecution of the war on drugs.  Police dogs are trained to use their sense of smell to detect many different types of drugs including but not limited to marijuana, cocaine, and h...

Ever since I began practicing criminal defense law over 20 years ago, I have frequently been asked, “How can you represent people that have committed a crime?”, or “How can you do what you do?”.  I can confidently answer these questions with the fact that I love what I do and I love protecting pe...

Recently, two men were released from prison in the State of North Carolina for crimes that neither had committed.  Each man served 30 years in prison before being released. A review of their criminal cases substantiates the fact that both men were detained by law enforcement and after hours of qu...

    It has long been held by the United States Supreme Court that the property on a person at the time of arrest may be searched by law enforcement in order to ensure the safety of the public and law enforcement by allowing for both the search for weapons and the securing of weapons in addition t...

    In a recent United States Supreme Court case, Navarette V. California, the court in a 5-4 decision greatly expanded the ability of the police to pull a motorist over in a DUI or other criminal investigation based on an anonymous tip.  The Supreme Court held that a police traffic stop based up...

The Rhode Island General Assembly recently enacted RIGL 12-19-39.  This legislation can be categorized as "feel good" criminal legislation dealing with gangs.  The new law adds a consecutive ten (10) year sentence to any crime if it is considered gang related.  Clearly, the punishment is based s...

This session, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed and the Governor signed into law new amendments to the already strict Rhode Island DUI law.  Effective January 1, 2015, convicted DUI offenders with a BAC at 0.15 or above, repeat DUI offenders and DUI offenders who have repeatedly refused BA...

The State of Rhode Island has enacted a new law which provides for strict penalties for the criminal charge of possession of certain quantities of a class of substances known as synthetic drugs.  This law greatly expands the 2013 law which had placed synthetic drugs (both synthetic cannabinoids a...

Individual Freedoms Take Another Hit. This week Governor Chafee signed a bill that requires anyone arrested for a violent felony have a DNA sample taken from them.  The old law required that DNA samples be taken from only those people that were convicted of a felony.  This new law will allow the...

I am now starting a new trend on my blog as well as on my Google Plus Page. I am now offering the Criminal Defense Tip of the Day.  These tips are intended to help people that may need help in the criminal defense field.  I would like any feed back you may have regarding this. Today's Criminal...

Rhode Island Criminal Defense Attorney Michael J. Zarrella announces that he has started 2013 with a NOT GUILTY Verdict on behalf of a client facing 2nd degree child molestation.   The three day trial began on January 8, 2013 in Providence Superior Court and on Friday January 11, 2013 the twelve ...

The Law Offices of Michael J. Zarrella is proud to announce Attorney Zarrella's third not-guilty jury verdict of 2012. November 7, 2012 Attorney Michael Zarrella announces a NOT GUILTY verdict secured on behalf of a client facing breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny and felony co...

Attorney Michael Zarrella Announces a NOT GUILTY Verdict Secured on Behalf of a Client Facing Felony Larceny and Domestic Violence Charges Attorney Michael Zarrella announces a NOT GUILTY verdict secured on behalf of a client facing felony larceny, domestic assault and battery, and domestic dis...

Charge: First Degree Robbery Washington County, Superior Court Charlestown police were dispatched to a liquor store where an alleged robbery had just taken place outside of the store. The police officers responded to the scene and the surrounding area to look for a vehicle fleeing from the scen...

   In Rhode Island, a breath test is most often the means of determining a driver's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a DUI/Drunk Driving case. Under Rhode Island law, a driver who fails a breathalyzer test by having a reading of .08% or greater will almost certainly be charged with drunk driv...

As a DUI defense lawyer, one of the most common questions I receive is "If I get pulled over for DUI should I refuse the breathalyzer test?". The common thought is that if you are stopped for a DUI, do not take the breathalyzer test and the State will have a much more difficult job in convicting ...

Confessions are the most incriminating and persuasive evidence of guilt that the state can bring against a defendant. Recent studies by Project Innocence show that in about 25% of DNA exoneration cases, innocent defendants made incriminating statements, delivered outright confessions or pled guil...

There is an old adage that a person who represents himself has a fool for a client.  What is not contained in the following press release by RI.gov regarding the recent trial, conviction and sentencing of a Massachusetts man on federal firearm charges is that the defendant represented himself on ...