Boston, MA criminal defense attorney Nat Carney talks about overdose manslaughter drug cases. He explains that overdose manslaughter cases arise when a person who distributes a narcotic—typically an opioid such as heroin or fentanyl—is charged with manslaughter after a purchaser suffers a fatal overdose. Such charges can be pursued at both the state and federal level.

In Massachusetts, his firm secured a precedent-setting decision in Commonwealth v. Cillo, in which the Supreme Judicial Court held that the mere distribution of heroin is insufficient, as a matter of law, to support a manslaughter conviction. Since that decision, the firm has continued to advance the legal standards in this area, particularly as the fentanyl crisis has escalated nationwide, including in Massachusetts.

These cases are inherently complex, requiring expertise in addiction, emergency medicine, forensic toxicology, and thorough investigative work. His firm has successfully handled multiple overdose manslaughter cases, emphasizing the importance of having an attorney experienced in navigating this evolving and highly technical area of law.