need some legal advice for the state of mass(kinda long)

[x5150x]

i hope im posting this in the right section,,heres my story ive been tattooing sence i was about 14 with home made equiptment off and on and finally 3 years ago got back into it with pro stuff(luckily i worked construction with a guy whos been a pro 4 about 15 years who helps me in any way i need)anyways a few months ago some local detectives got a search warrant 4 my girlfriends house (which had nothing to do with tattooing) anyways they didnt find what they looking for and at the end of the search they started packing up all my tattooing equipment and i mean everything ,clave, ultrason,spray bottles,inks, tubes,6 machines(one a bad brass about $1000 2 danny fowlers and an original mickey which is ireplaceable),a d ointment,p/supply set up, caps everything even tracing paper and pencils including my entire flash collection wich i value at over $3000,,these guys were real a-holes about it 2,dropping my machines on the table real hard and just throwing everything into a box and laughing about,,so they bring me back 2 the station and finally release me after 10 hours of interagation,,now a funny part was i leave the station and i realized the cop had my id/keys so i go back in the room and three of them got my flash books out flipping through them and saying wow look at this 1 this is cool check this 1 out,,when i asked why there taking my stuff they say tattooing is illegal and i cant event have equipment,,my 2 questions are 1the search warrant said nothing about tattoo equiptment could they still confascate? my stuff if it wasent on the warrant???and my second is ive been doing research about mass tattooing and it says nothing about i cant have the equiptment pretty much it says i cant tattoo 4 money so were they within the law taking it from me??ive sence then gotten new equiptment
but i would still love 2 have back my bad brass,original sharpz and my flash (i never knew pictures would be illegal)i do realize there cops and can pretty much get away with whateva they want and if i go down 2 them demanding it back ill be arrested for some b/s charge,,any advice will be greatly appreciated(well except find a good lawyer i aint got the $ for that at the moment,,,thanks 2 n e 1 in advance

[maxauto]

well tattooing in mass is legal and has been since 2000
i will ask my mother she is a lawyer in boston, ma.
that just doesnt sound right to me.
but yes it sounds like you will need a lawyer, and it sounds like its worth it
for the stuff that got confiscated.
ive got well over a couple grand in supplys myself and i dont know how id react if some clown cops walked in and took it.
atleast go to your town hall and find out if it is illegal to own equipment
without a licence.
if you think you will be arrested for a b.s. charge i would bring a couple witnesses and mabye a buddy with a hidden video camera to catch a b.s. lie.
even a tape recorder...but first find out if its illegal to own without a licence.
i have never seen a law in Mass stating you can not own equipment
without a licence. i will look into this ..:)

[krazy_tattooist]

damn dude that sucks... you need to check if its legal to own a machine, ink etc etc because it should be legal to own it but illegal to use it... in your state anyway. but they are allowed to take anything they see as illegal even if its on a unrelated search warrant... but i think they have to start a whole new case on whatever illegal stuff they took. i guess you should try and appeal or something.. i dunno how usa law works but it deffinatly aint right. id complain they didnt handle your stuff with care aswell

[jjbbuzz]

man that is harsh.! i know no legal advice i could give you, but even if you are in another country, it sounds very wrong. if i were you i would try get it back! good luck though!!!

[brokenlaser]

you're not telling us something here.... Don't tell the partial truth

[tin23uk]

i havnt looked over mass tattoo law but im sure it wont say you cant tattoo for money, more likely it says you cant tattoo without being registered with the health dept thats for money or for free. as for them taking your goods i see no reason why they would do that unless you were caught tattooing human flesh without being registered. talk to a lawyer most will give you advice for free in order to let you know if they can help you, i would say without a lawyer and without really knowing the law yourself you wont be getting anything back anytime soon.

[x5150x]

thankx 4 all the replies,,first 2 maxauto i cant find any law saying its illegal to own the equiptment(and they wernt really some clown cops) one was a local detective and one was some a-hole hardcore atf agent,,see if you can find out n e thing,,thanks really appreciate it
2 tin23uk thata what i meant tattooing 4 money meaning i had 2 be licenced,,and no i wasent caught tattooing they were there for something totally unrelated,
and broken laser,,nope thats all of it cops thought i had a bunch of guns stored at my g/fs house(which is only 10 miles away but another state)
they got a search warrant (which said they can only take guns and related items) i think they just got pist off not finding any so they took my equipment instead

[undercover art]

Doing tattoos underground is very risky, you shouldn't be on any law enforcement radar if you are going to attempt it. You said they thought you were storing guns at your girlfriends house? What the fuck are you doing were the police can get a warrant for searching for weapons at a residence other than your own? The criminal element is what got you busted dude! Thanks for associating underground tattooing with weapons and crime for us all, thats what we all needed:evil:

[tin23uk]

whats the best saw to shorten my shotgun? lol:rolleyes:

[maxauto]

ok x5150x you got problems. heres where it starts, you never mentioned the word guns the first time, friends and i were having a poker game last night
and i asked 8 different people (what do you call the part that gives you a tattoo?) know what they all said? a tattoo GUN!!
heres the problem you got..you had a search and seizure warrant for guns,
well they found em.
the problem is they are just stepping on the line (mabye a little over)
by legally taking your equipment away.
it is illegal to tattoo without a licence from the board of health, and you can
be fined on a daily basis until the b.o.h. conducts a hearing.. no less than
100 per day for each offense. they dont get specific on the fine but im assuming each offense means parts of the courses for a license.. as in blood bourne pathogens course equals one offence. completed course on anatomy
would be another.. their are 4 different courses..
the thing is.... most that have been busted underground have had complaints set forth by a client who had gotten an infection or disease...
in your case it doesnt apply which is why you may still have rights like
the first ammendment...there is nothing in the mass laws stating you can not tattoo yourself..tink had a great idea to simply call a lawyer for free advise.
your going to need one if you plan on getting your stuff back...
if your going to let it go, you still might need a lawyer because the board.o.h.
could still pursue you... for a hearing on illegal tattooing.. so atleast explain
your case to a lawyer whether you pursue it or not..its free advise..
its not going to be easy to get your stuff back without having a licence,
you would be like 1 of 2 people who succeded. the first person to get away with underground tattooing, was also the same person who fought in
court furiously to get the Mass tattoo ban lifted..and won, without a fine.

[maxauto]

oh and check this out....
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=pressreleases&agId=Eoca&prModName=ocapressrelease&prFile=05_05_17_dplalzate.xml

[maxauto]

Massachusetts Tattoo Laws

Tattooing body of person by other than qualified physician; punishment
Whoever, not being registered as a qualified physician under section two of chapter one hundred and twelve, or corresponding provisions of earlier laws, marks the body of any person by means of tattooing, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

2000 Main Volume

St.1957, c. 76, was approved Feb. 14, 1957.

St.1962, c. 214, approved March 12, 1962, rewrote the section, which prior thereto read:

"whoever marks the body of a person under the age of eighteen years by means of tattooing shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars."
this was taken from a website before the ban was lifted in mass..

[bobby b]

wow x5150x,,i too am out of mass,,worcester to be exact,,,it is legalized here in mass now,,but you cannot tattoo out of your home unless you are a licensed tattooist from the state of mass,,the ole saying sticks here ,,,massholes,,,,,lol,,,the law states no person with out a apprentice ship,,,bbp-cc cources and cpr----and a respectable studio to vouch for you,,,well hell the world doesn't need another scracher,,fuck this is what sets of the board of health for infectuos diseases,,and screwed the underground here for years man,,,,they just figured everyone was going to other states to get them so why not keep the revenue here in mass,,,,assholes!!!,,,,but if you get dimed on for tatting out of your home
expect a visit!!!!so many issues with the board of health,,,but thay are right,,bbp-cc too many assholes out there fuckin it up for the good tattooist,,excuse my language all,,,but this really does suck for this guy ,,confiscated shit,,,my best advice is this,,,find a mentor,,and start the ball rolling,,hell if ya did this a year or 2 ago you would still have your toys dude,,,but do feel for ya,,,alot of shit rolls down hill here in mass,,get an apprentice ship dude,,i could even help you with contacts if your art is any good?????peace man,,but don't give up just go about it in the right manner dude!!!!!!bobby b,,,,pps...let us know how ya made out