Category — judges

Criminal defense lawyer turned MA State Representative James Fagan’s comments on Jessica’s Law aren’t surprising. Criminal defense attorneys don’t have souls, right?

“Let me tell you why it’s so wrong,” said Fagan (D-Taunton). “It’s so wrong because in these situations . . . that 6-year-old is going to sit in front of me, or somebody far worse than me and I’m going to rip them apart. I’m going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined. That when they’re 8 years old they throw up; when they’re 12 years old, they won’t sleep. When they’re 19 years old they’ll have nightmares and they’ll never have a relationship with anybody. And that’s not because I’m a nice guy. That’s because when you’re in court, and you’re defending somebody’s liberty, and you’re facing a mandatory sentence of those draconian proportions, you have to do every single thing you can do on behalf of your client. That is your obligation as a trial lawyer.”

Fagan, who opposed Melanie’s Law, also criticized laws named in honor of victims, calling such measures “knee-jerk” legislation.

First, I would not hire Fagan as an attorney. Anyone who thinks he’d earn points with a jury by tearing into a 6 year old on the stand isn’t much of an attorney. I doubt even a Cambridge jury would take kindly to that tactic.

Second, 20 years doesn’t seem “draconian” when measured against the life sentence that the victim got from the perpetrator.  But again, you have to have a soul to consider the victim’s travails.

Next, whenever these laws are considered, emotions run high. Normal people–read not criminal defense attorneys and judges–empathize with the victim and family. However, I strongly disagree with the notion that these laws are a “knee-jerk”, emotional reactions.

Mandatory minimums is the logical response to bleeding heart judges whose first inclination is sympathy for the offenders. If MA judges had the good sense to take child rapists off the streets, we wouldn’t even be talking about mandatory minimums. But instead of protecting children, far too many judges slap these highly dangerous criminals on the wrists.

If Representative Fagan is worried about the damage of cross-examination, he should work on reforming the way judges are selected, disciplined, and retained. Until the judicial process experiences some massive reform, mandatory minimums is the only option that the people have to defend themselves against judges who refuse to defend us and our children.

What is it with Massachusetts judges and sex offenders? It’s almost like they’ve never met one they didn’t like:

The Supreme Judicial Court has reversed a decision by Judge Ernest B. Murphy, who found an accused child molester not guilty after the alleged young victim went to the wrong courtroom and waited there for several hours, missing the start of the trial.

The SJC ruled Murphy “improperly entered” the not guilty finding last March before evidence and opening statements were presented.

Wow! Innocent because the victim waited in the wrong courtroom? That’s like a bad joke. But not to be outdone, Judge Moses releases yet another sexual deviant with a long rap sheet:

The serial sex fiend busted for allegedly stalking a woman in a Braintree bookstore bathroom left a trail of escalating depravity encompassing nearly a dozen incidents over seven years, including a violent attempted rape.

Judge Richard T. Moses knew twisted sex freak David Flavell’s history of arrests from New Hampshire to Fairhaven when he set free the Level 3 offender in 2006, ruling he posed no danger to the public, according to court filings obtained by the Herald.

I’d say blow up the judiciary and start over, but with Deval Patrick appointing them, it’d just be worse.

My head just starts throbbing when I think about how broken the Massachusetts justice system is. For example, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang wants to ban pedophiles from libraries and playgrounds in response to the recent library rape of a 6 year old. I’m sure the sexual deviants are just petrified by your ban, Mr. Mayor.

And the parade of moonbat judges releasing sexual deviants rolls on:

Last week, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Bonnie MacLeod-Mancuso ordered the release of Andrew “Billy” Berg, 47, who confessed in 1998 to molesting and raping his girlfriend’s child four to five times a week from the time she was 8 until she was 13.

What are these people thinking? These judges need to do hard time when their decisions so adversely effect the lives of young children. However, it’s not all bad news. A new bill would remove the decision about how to deal with sexual deviants from the state’s moonbat judges and give it to juries. I’d still like to see mandatory minimums and impeachment proceedings against any judge that fails to comply, but it’s still a step in the right direction.

Massachusetts judges really need to be elected because the current appointment system is failing us miserably:

A convicted sex offender arrested this week on charges of raping a 6-year-old boy in the public library had been released from prison a year ago, despite the strenuous objections of the district attorney and three psychologists who argued that he posed a serious threat to children.

Superior Court Judge Richard Moses denied the prosecutor’s motion to keep Corey Saunders in custody indefinitely, arguing that he had a low IQ and had suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child.

So, the bleeding heart JD overruled 3 PhDs. Isn’t that nice? The case for keeping this predator locked up was strong, but the judge “knew” better. And although he should be removed from the bench, my guess is that very little will happen. Welcome to justice in MA where criminal rights and bleeding hearts come first.

Combine our judges with Patrick’s CORI “reforms” and pretty soon the real prisoners will be the average person in their home.