Questions concerning Michael’s reversal by 1st Circuit Court of Appeals

Many of you have sent me emails regarding the reversal of Michael’s conviction by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. I will attempt to answer your questions as best as I can with the information currently available:

1. Has Michael been freed and released from prison? No, Michael has not been freed and is still in prison. The ruling by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals is a big step toward releasing him from prison but it is not the final step; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts still has some options available to appeal the decision by the 3-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court.

2. Can Michael be released on bail? Michael’s attorney has filed a motion for release with bail conditions. He hopes the court will act on the motion for bail quickly. I will keep you posted as soon as we hear any news regarding possible bail and what the conditions for bail are. Please remember there is no guarantee the court will grant bail.

3. What options are available by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to appeal the decision by the 3 judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals? 1) The Attorney General's (AG) office of Massachusetts intends to file a petition for a rehearing en banc. This means that the AG wants another hearing and decision by all the justices in the First Circuit, not just the 3 justices who decided the appeal and reversed Michael’s conviction. If the court denies the petition by the AG the decision by the 3 judge panel will stand. If the court grants the petition by the AG there will be another hearing before the full court. Obviously we don't want this because we don't want a majority of all the judges possibly taking a different view than the 3 judge panel who just reversed Michael’s conviction. We hope that the court acts quickly on whether or not to rehear the case en banc, and even more so we hope they deny the AG’s petition. 2) If the AG's petition for en banc is denied, the AG's only recourse is a petition to the US Supreme Court to reinstate Michael’s conviction. Of course we hope the US Supreme Court would deny the AG’s petition. If the court denies the AG’s petition Michael is freed from prison.

4. What if the decision by the 1st Circuit Court reverses the 3 judge panel and reinstates Michael’s conviction? Our option would be to file a petition with the US Supreme Court to reverse the 1st Circuit Court’s ruling and overturn Michael’s conviction. If the court denies Michael’s petition his conviction would stand and we would start to pursue other avenues to obtain his freedom.

5. What are we hoping for? We hope that the 1st Circuit Court and the US Supreme Court denies the petitions filed by the AG of Massachusetts and that the current ruling by the 3 judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court stands. If this happens Michael is free man.

6. Can Michael be retried for the crime he has been convicted of? According to the ruling of the 3 judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court the answer is no. If their ruling stands Michael is freed and cannot be retried for the crime.

If you have any further questions respond to this blog article by entering your questions under comments rather than sending me an email. In this way everyone has access to further questions, comments and questions.

Thanks,
Dick


Links to other articles:

Berkshire Eagle story

The Docket article