Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer & Former Norfolk County Prosecutor
If you are facing a criminal charge in Massachusetts, you want a lawyer who has seen the case from both sides. Attorney Patrick Donovan spent years as an Assistant District Attorney in Norfolk County, prosecuting cases in the Quincy, Stoughton, and Dedham District Courts and in Norfolk Superior Court, before he began defending people charged with crimes. He knows how prosecutors build a case and where the weak points are.
Patrick Donovan has practiced criminal law in Massachusetts since 2005, defending clients across Boston, Quincy, the South Shore, Plymouth County, and Cape Cod. Whether you are facing an OUI, a drug charge, an assault, a theft case, or a restraining order, the first conversation is free and confidential. Call (617) 479-1800, seven days a week.
Former Assistant District Attorney and Former Prosecutor
As a Norfolk County prosecutor, Patrick Donovan handled thousands of felony and misdemeanor cases in the District and Superior Courts and served on the office’s White Collar Crime Unit. That work shapes how he defends you now. He reads a police report the way the prosecutor across the aisle reads it, and he looks for the weak points before your first court date.
Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney
Patrick Donovan has tried cases before judges and juries, argued hundreds of plea and clerk-magistrate hearings, and handled arraignments, bail hearings, and pretrial conferences in courts throughout Massachusetts. He can represent you at every stage of a case, including:
- Police or law enforcement investigations
- Grand jury appearances
- Police interviews
- Arraignments
- Pretrial hearings
- Bail hearings
- Warrant removals
- Motion hearings
- Probable cause hearings
- Show cause and clerk magistrate hearings
- Bench trials and jury trials
- Registry of Motor Vehicles hearings
Domestic Violence Criminal Defense Attorney
Most domestic violence cases in Massachusetts are charged as assault and battery on a family or household member. Police make an arrest on nearly every call, and prosecutors pursue these cases even when the person who called wants them dropped. A conviction can bring jail, probation, and mandatory programs. Having prosecuted these cases himself, Patrick Donovan knows where a rushed police report leaves room to defend you.
Massachusetts Drunk Driving Defense Lawyer
An OUI in Massachusetts puts your license, your insurance, and sometimes your freedom at risk, and the penalties climb with every offense. Prosecutors are trained to try these cases and rarely dismiss them on their own. Patrick Donovan challenges the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the breath evidence to build you a real defense.
Shoplifting Defense Attorney
Shoplifting is usually a misdemeanor, but once the value of the goods crosses a set dollar amount it becomes a felony. Either way it can follow you on a background check. Patrick Donovan has resolved many shoplifting cases before arraignment, so nothing appeared on the client’s record.
College Student Criminal Defense Attorney
A criminal charge can threaten a college student’s enrollment as well as their record, because the school may impose its own discipline on top of the court case. College students accused of crimes have often left Patrick Donovan’s representation able to stay in school and finish their degree.
Leaving the Scene of an Accident Defense
Massachusetts law requires drivers to identify themselves after an accident. Leaving the scene of property damage or personal injury is a criminal charge that carries fines, a possible jail sentence, and a mandatory license loss. With early work on the case, those penalties can often be avoided.
Restraining Order Defense
A restraining order, also called an abuse prevention or 209A order, is a civil order that carries criminal penalties if you violate it. A judge can order you out of your home, require you to surrender your firearms, and bar all contact with the other person, sometimes at a hearing held before you were even present. What you do in the first days matters.
Sex Crimes Defense
Sex crimes carry some of the harshest penalties in Massachusetts, and a conviction often requires registration as a sex offender. Patrick Donovan has helped clients avoid registration by challenging the evidence and the way statements were taken. If you are under investigation for rape, statutory rape, indecent assault and battery, or a related charge, talk to a lawyer before you talk to police.
A Client-Focused Criminal Defense
Patrick Donovan offers a free, confidential consultation and works with each client on a plan that fits their life and their case. Call (617) 479-1800 or email patrick@pdonovanlaw.com to talk through where you stand and what comes next.
