The Juvenile Defense Blog

Here is an article about the follow up to the 2003 Juvenile Justice Reforms in New Orleans.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/10/juvenile_justice_system_in_lou.html

On Thursday, September 10, 2009, I argued the case of Commonwealth v. Porter P., A Juvenile, before seven justices of the Supreme Judicial Court.  I had won a motion to suppress evidence at the Dorchester Juvenile Court.  The Commonwealth appealed and the Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed the allowance of the motion in Commonwealth v. Porter P. I filed for further appellate review and the Supreme judicial Court accepted the case.

The issue was whether my client had a right to privacy in a locked room he shared with his mother at a family shelter, whether the shelter director had authority to consent to a police search of that room and, if she did not, whether she had the apparent authority that justified the police relying on her consent.

Two amicus briefs were filed on behalf  the ALCU of Massachusetts, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Youth Advocacy Project, Harvard Defenders,  Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, and the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.  The Court docket is here.  A decision is expected in three to four months.

To watch the full argument assistant district attorney Kathleen Celio arguing, click here.

Here is an article I came across posted in a blog about a juvenile who claims he was wrongly convicted of rape because of ineffective assistance of his lawyer.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/082009/08302009/489686/index_html?page=1

After taking time to redo my two websites, www.corbolaw.com and www.majuveniledefenselawyer.com, I have changed the look and style of this blog.  I hope you enjoy.

Jim Corbo

The SJC today released Fitzpatrick v. Commonwealth, holding that there was no 211, sec 3 remedy for a Juvenile Court’s decision to transfer a case to Superior Court under sec. 119, sec. 72A (offense before age 17, apprehended after age 18).  The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the case when it got to Superior Court and to remand the case to Juvenile Court for the Juvenile judge to make findings on the reasons for transfer.  Both motions were denied. SJC held no c. 211 sec. 3 remedy where the defendant did not show his claim could not be remedied on appeal from a final judgment.

Here is the case:

http://weblinks.westlaw.com/find/default.wl?bQlocfnd=True&DB=MA-ORSLIP&DOLOCATE=Locate&FindType=Y&LQuery=to(allsct+allsctrs+allsctoj+allapp+allapprs)&RS=ICLP2.0&SerialNum=2018626365&sp=MassOF-1001&ssl=n&strRecreate=no&sv=Split&VR=1.0

Quincy man convicted of child rape free for two more weeks
By John P. Kelly
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Jan 09, 2009 @ 11:00 AM
Last update Jan 09, 2009 @ 12:20 PM
DEDHAM —

A Quincy man convicted of child rape is free to walk the streets for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders this morning reversed herself and decided that a GPS monitoring device isn’t necessary to ensure that Michael Sullivan shows up for his sentencing on Jan. 27.

Norfolk County prosecutors had asked that Sullivan be held in jail after his conviction Wednesday for his role in the 2003 rape of a 14-year-old girl, who he pinned to his bed while Sullivan’s 16-year-old friend raped her. Sanders denied that request but ordered a GPS device for Sullivan. This morning, she ruled that won’t be necessary.

“I don’t think there is a danger of defaulting in this case,” Sanders said today in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. “Incarceration is a very strong possibility in this case.”

A jury found Sullivan, now 21, guilty of rape of a child with force. He is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 27 and guidelines call for up to 25 years in prison.

Sullivan used to live in public housing on Taffrail Road in the Germantown section of Quincy but hasn’t lived there since his mother died. His defense attorney, James Gavigan, said that he believes Sullivan still lives in Quincy with friends but does not have access to a landline telephone, something that’s necessary for the monitoring device.

Gavigan outlined factors the judge took into account in deciding against immediately jailing Sullivan upon conviction. The crime occurred more than five years ago, Sullivan has yet to miss a single court appearance, and he has never been jailed for a crime before, the attorney said.

Gavigan said he intended to appeal the conviction on grounds Sullivan should have been tried as a juvenile. He said prosecutors were aware of the crime and could have brought charges in 2004, when Sullivan was still a minor. Had that occurred, he said, Sullivan might have only faced temporary committment to the Department of Youth Services.

Instead, Sullivan could face much harsher punishment when he is sentenced Jan. 27.

“I think the victim may have been reluctant to come forward,” he said.

The other accused rapist, Kamil Ostrowski, was deported to Poland by federal immigration officials before he could stand trial, Traub said. Ostrowski, who was in the country illegally since age 8, had just finished a jail sentence for armed robbery when he was deported, Traub said.

The rape occurred six days before Christmas in 2003.

A description of the case, filed in court by Assistant District Attorney Megan Kennedy, said the girl and other youths were at Sullivan’s home drinking alcohol and playing video games.

Later, everyone left except Sullivan, Ostrowski and the girl.

Fueled by alcohol, the two 16-year-olds held the girl to the bed. Sullivan forced his hand down her pants, touching her genitals, and both men tried to kiss her, the narrative states.

“After breaking free, (the girl) attempted to leave. When she tried to leave the room Mr. Sullivan blocked the exit,” it continues.

She was thrown to the bed and Sullivan “held her down by her shoulders.” Her clothing was pulled off, and as Ostrowski raped the girl she “stated ‘no,’ ‘stop’ and ‘I don’t do this,’” the narrative states.

Sullivan has had other run-ins with police since the rape. In 2006, he was one in a group of teenagers arrested after police found them outside a Quincy pharmacy threatening one another with bats and crowbars. The year before, he was arrested and charged with breaking into four cars and attempting to burglarize a home.

Sullivan has been free since being charged with rape. Ostrowski, who lived in Dorchester, was serving a two-year jail sentence when he was charged with the rape.

It could not immediately be learned whether federal authorities were aware Ostrowski was facing a rape charge at the time of his deportation.

John P. Kelly may be reached at jkelly@ledger.com.