u/HolidayAdditional901

EDIT: or at least could someone compare Suffolk/Middlesex to, say, Berkshire or Hampden?

I'm probably going to be an ada in Mass, but I know there are significant differences between what it's like to be an ada in some counties and what it's like to be an ada in others.

The variables that matter to me are, in no particular order:

1. Extensive training vs. throw you to the wolves dynamic (I think I prefer being thrown to the wolves, but I'm not saying training is bad obviously)
2. Salary (I think the statutory minimum is $68k, but I understand some counties pay more (e.g., Essex appears to start adas at $75)
3. ADA job satisfaction
4. Collegiality among ADAs in the office
5. Turnover
6. Promotion from district court to superior court is slow vs. speedier
7. Types of cases handled in district and superior

While I'd be happy to hear about Suffolk and Middlesex, I'm more familiar with how those offices work from people I've spoken to. I'm really interested in 1-8 as they apply to every county:

a. Suffolk

b. Middlesex

c. Essex

d. Norfolk

e. Cape and Islands

f. Berkshire

Etc., etc.

Hello all,

I have my first trial next week. (I am also a rising 3L in law school.) It is an OUI alcohol case. I am looking forward to it, but one of my worries is that I will have trouble eliciting the kind of testimony from my officer witness that I need to elicit to prove certain elements, including operation, without leading questions.

For example, I need to prove that the defendant operated the vehicle while he was intoxicated/impaired by alcohol (something like that; I don't recall the exact language off the top of my head). My officer cannot testify to operation by saying, "I observed a vehicle making repeated marked lanes violations and driving very slowly" because he did not observe the operator driving at all.

Instead, he first observed the vehicle after it had already parked. He did observe the engine running, which is useful for operation. However, I don't know how to elicit the testimony "I noticed the engine running" or "I noticed the heat was on" without asking something that would be leading.

I can't just ask---What did you observe about the state of the vehicle? That might not get me the answer "I noticed the engine running."

But I also can't as---Did you observe the engine running? For that would, I assume, be leading.

I don't understand what to do here. And in general, I don't really understand the concept of leading questions. (I have not taken trial ad yet; I am doing that next semester.) I have been told that it is something like "asking a question when the answer is included in the question." But that's kind of an abstract and not super clear definition.