Allison Burroughs, Dahlia Rin and Benjamin Mack, members of the firm’s Government Investigations and White Collar Defense practice group, published “The Whitey Bulger case and the right to be heard” in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on January 2. The article discusses the rights of crime victims under federal law in the aftermath of the Whitey Bulger arrest and the indictment of his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, on one count of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive.
The authors explain that Bulger’s alleged crime victims (or the family members of the deceased victims) have the right to speak in court at any of his release, plea, sentencing or parole proceedings. Since Bulger selected not to challenge his pre-trial detention there was not an opportunity for the alleged victims to speak in court. The magistrate judge allowed four family members of Bulger’s deceased victims to speak at Greig’s detention hearing. The judge’s decision was no doubt meant as an act of kindness to the family members but the decision made without limitation as to relevance or materiality, may well have run afoul of applicable statutes. Federal case law applying the statute suggests that Bulger and Greig’s respective victims are not one and the same and thus, that victims of Bulger’s alleged offenses should not necessarily been allowed to testify at Greig’s detention hearing.
The authors note that although prosecutors are legally obligated to ensure that victims are afforded their right to be heard that courts and prosecutors should carefully consider who actually qualifies as a victim. While a purported victim might feel temporarily better as a result of having aired their outrage during a pre-trial release hearing, that person’s remarks might well have no legal significance on the outcome of the detention issue, while contributing to a trial being moved out of state because of a compromised jury pool.
To view the entire article, click here.