The outgoing administration of Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte seems to be having a hard time coming up with a response to the brief Ben LaGuer’s attorneys, led by James C. Rehnquist, filed with the SJC on September 11. The court set a deadline of October 11 for the Commonwealth to respond and then granted an extension to October 27. According to the court docket, the commonwealth is seeking another extension, this time to November 15. It remains to be seen if the justices will grant this second extension. But the question inevitably arises, why, in a case that has been kicking around for 23 years, can’t they get their briefs in on time? Could it have something to do with the political season and the impending change of leadership in the Worcester DA’s office?
Anyone out there have any insights or ideas?
are pretty routine. And the impending changeover in both Conte’s and Reilly’s offices is no doubt making things more complicated. I wouldn’t read much into it.
And it is also true that in the almost three years since Rehnquist filed the Motion for a New Trail in Worcester Superior Court, and then through a protracted process in the Appeals Court, I don’t think the Commonwealth met a single filing date without asking for at least one delay. And the requests for extensions always came at the very last minute. So you are right, requests for brief extensions are routine. Still, it is surprising to me that the commonwealth would be asking for two delays at this juncture when the issues are well established and when they have known about these filing deadlines for months.
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As for the complicating factors introduced by the impending changeovers in Conte’s and Reilly’s offices: I am really curious about those. That’s why I am posing the question to the BMG community whether anyone out there may have some insights or knowledge that could shed light on what those complicating factors might be.
I would guess there are two possible issues:
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1. The changeover may affect the personnnel responsible for preparing the Commonwealth; and
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2. The reflex to take time to get it right, in light of the publicity generated by the campaign. I’m sure there are things that could be put in the briefs that could be scrutinized and used politically.
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That said, and not knowing what the legal basis for the appeal is, the government usually prevails on these types of issues, normally, this is an abuse of discretion issue that accords great deference to the trial judge’s (assuming that there had been evidentiary hearing regarding newly discovered evidence, etc.) evaluation of the evidence.
in this instance the trial judge has retired. The Superior Court judge who handled the initial motion Rehnquist filed in February 2004 denied it without a hearing even though Rehnquist requested one.
Convicted rapist supports Patrick
Editorial / Opinion Sentinel & Enterprise
Article Launched:10/30/2006 11:08:07 AM EST
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My name is Ben LaGuer. I am one of the men at the center of Lt. Governor Kerry Healey’s political campaign ads attacking Deval Patrick. The truth about my care of who I am cannot be found anywhere in Kerry Healey’s disingenuous campaign ads. In 1983, after just getting out of the Army and with no criminal record, I was charges and subsequently wrongly convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison. I was initially offered a two-year sentence under a plea bargain; however, I could not plead guilty to a horrendous crime that I did not commit. During the past 23 years in prison, I have maintained my innocence which has only kept me in jail longer. However, I continue to have faith in our judicial system and pray that the truth will some day prevail. In a short time, The Supreme Judicial Court will hear my case.
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For years the Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte’s office has waged a scurrilous prosecution against me. Due process of law required that the prosecutor timely disclose evidence in his possession that could materially aid in my defense. The prosecutor withheld for almost two decades fingerprints lifted from crucial crime scene evidence- fingerprints that excluded me. In addition, the widely held view that the DNA test “further linked LaGuer to the rape” is not accurate. Personal articles taken from my bedroom were sent for DNA testing, but were misrepresented to lab technicians as being taken from the crime scene. A group of independent forensic experts, including prominent scientists from Harvard and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has concluded that the DNA testing in my case has no forensic value. There are numerous other irregularities that challenge the integrity of the prosecutor’s case against me, all of which should be of concern to any fair-minded individual- especially to someone holding public office.
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As the Kerry Healey campaign continues to run smear and fear ads featuring me, I am hopeful that the people of Massachusetts will choose a Governor based on real issues that affect their daily lives. I only with that Republicans and Democrats could come together and act for the greater and common good of all people.