Randy Gioia, Of Counsel

Email: lawyergioia@gmail.com

Randy Gioia has been a criminal defense attorney for more than forty years. Randy has tried more than 100 cases to completion before state and federal courts, including as lead counsel in 20 first-degree murder cases. He has also argued more than a dozen appeals before the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Professional Experience:

  • From 2012 to 2021, Randy was the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts statewide public defender agency. As Deputy Chief Counsel, Randy oversaw the operation of all staffed public defender offices throughout Massachusetts. He has testified numerous times before legislative committees as an outspoken advocate for criminal Justice reform. 
  • In 2000 Randy co-founded Suffolk Lawyers for Justice, the non-profit corporation that oversees the provision of criminal defense services by private court assigned counsel in Suffolk County. He was co-chair of Suffolk Lawyers for Justice for six years.
  • Randy was lead Massachusetts counsel for a man who was facing the death penalty in Massachusetts federal court.  After federal prosecutors abandoned their pursuit of the death penalty, Randy represented the man in Massachusetts state court. After a jury trial the man was acquitted of murder.
  • Randy was recently co-counsel with Attorney Patrick Gioia in a Massachusetts motor vehicle homicide case. Their client was acquitted after a jury trial.
  • Randy has successfully represented numerous parents who have been accused of intentionally harming their infant children; so-called “shaken baby” cases. Randy utilized nationally known experts and a thorough understanding of the science and medicine to obtain favorable results for his clients. 

Professional Activities

Professional Activities:

  • Co-chair, Criminal Law Section, Boston Bar Association. 
  • Director, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 
  • Member, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Curriculum Advisory Committee, Criminal Law.
  • Member, Boston Bar Association Council (Executive Committee 2007-2010).
  • Member, Boston Bar Association Task Force on Wrongful Convictions.
  • Chair, Boston Bar Association Study Group on Gun Control Legislation.
  • National Legal Aid and Defender Association Liaison to the American Bar Association Task Force on Revising Criminal Discovery Standards.
  • Member, Boston Municipal Court and Massachusetts District Court Sentencing Best Practices Committees.
  • Member, Boston Bar Association Criminal Justice Reform Working Group.
  • Member, Boston Bar Association, COVID Crisis Response Working Group.
  • Presently, Member, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Committee on Grand Jury Proceedings.
  • Presently, Member, American Bar Association Criminal Law Section Standards Committee.

Significant reported cases:

  • Commonwealth v. Tracey, 416 Mass. 528 (1993).
  • Commonwealth v. Carr, 458 Mass. 295 (2010).
  • United States v. Salemme, 91 F.Supp.2d 141 (1999).
  • United States v. Green, 343 F.Supp.2nd 23 (2004).
  • Riva v. Ficco, 615 F3d 35 (2010).

Publications:

  • “Picking the Jury”, The Best of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Journal, (1995).  
  • “Trying Sex Offense Cases in Massachusetts”, MCLE, 1998: Contributing chapter author.
  • “Crime and Consequences”, MCLE, 2001: Contributing chapter author.
  • “Trying Murder Cases in Massachusetts”, MCLE, 2004: Contributing chapter author.
  • Blumenson, “Massachusetts Criminal Practice” 4th Ed. (2012), Contributing chapter author.

Education

Columbia University, New York, NY; B.A., Economics 1974

Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA; Juris Doctor 1977

OUR PRACTICE AREAS

2000-present

Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated – highest rating preeminent skills and ethics

2008-2012

Best Lawyers in America

2006-2012

New England Super Lawyers

2006

Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Recognition for “tireless and courageous advocacy”

2002

Committee for Public Counsel Services, Edward J. Duggan Award for “zealous advocacy and outstanding legal services to the poor”