For most first offenses, jail is unlikely but not impossible. First-offense OUI, simple possession, misdemeanor A&B, shoplifting, and similar District Court matters typically resolve with a CWOF or probation when properly handled. Jail becomes more likely when facts are aggravating - an accident with injury, a high breath test, a weapon, or a domestic victim hospitalized. Trafficking, firearms offenses under M.G.L. c. 269 § 10, and many Superior Court felonies carry mandatory minimums that take probation off the table. Our job as your Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer is to reframe the facts, develop mitigation, and give the judge every reason to hold probation open rather than impose incarceration.
