Court Decisions in Steve’s Cases
For law students, lawyers, people who are considering law as a career, or anyone curious about how the justice system works, here are links to the some of the court decisions in Steve’s cases, which are discussed in his book.
Commonwealth v. McInerney: Here is Steve’s first case as a lawyer, appealing the murder conviction of Thomas McInerney, and the opinion of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reducing the verdict from first to second-degree murder, thereby making Mr. McInerney eligible for parole.
Walker v. Butterworth: This is the decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Terrell Walker’s habeas corpus case, reversing his murder conviction for shooting Boston Police Detective John Schroeder and ordering a new trial.
Chad Green: Here are two decisions in the Chad Green case, involving the refusal of the parents of a young child to allow their son to receive life-saving medical treatment for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: his parents’ first appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the dismissal of their civil rights complaint against Chad’s physician, John T. Truman, M.D.
The Death Penalty: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down a death penalty law as violative of the state constitution in this case, where Steve argued for abolition of capital punishment.
The Worst Person in Vermont: In his book, Steve characterizes his client, Edwin Towne, Jr., as someone widely considered to be the worst person in Vermont. This decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which arises out of Mr. Towne’s rape and murder of high school student Paulette Crickmore, holds that the no-parole provision of the Dangerous Special Offender statute was wrongfully applied to him.
Suspicious Circumstances in the Signing of a Will: In this case, involving the Estate of Lena Raedel, the jury had overturned the will. On appeal, Steve persuaded the Vermont Supreme Court to order a new trial because the verdict was based on “suspicious circumstances,” which the court holds that, as a matter of law, did not exist.
Stopping the U.S. Forest Service from Clearcutting Lamb Brook: This decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had the practical effect of stopping the Forest Service from destroying an area of wildlife habitat on the Green Mountain National Forest critical to the survival of a population of black bears and neotropical songbirds.
Upholding the Free Speech Rights of Zachary Guiles: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, reversing the court below, upheld the right of a middle school student to wear in class a T-shirt critical of President Bush in this case, where Sonia Sotomayor was one of the judges prior to her elevation to Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Steve was lead counsel.
Vermont Supreme Court Upholds Suppression from Evidence of Three Pounds of Marijuana Found in the Trunk of his Client’s Car: In State v. Lizee, a police officer stopped Zachary Lizee’s car for having a non-functioning license plate light. After smelling the odor of marijuana, the officer asked for permission to search the car, and Mr. Lizee refused. After learning that Mr. Lizee had no automobile insurance, the cop seized the car and had it towed. When a drug dog later alerted on the car’s trunk, the officer obtained a warrant to search it and found three pounds of marijuana. Steve filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that the initial warrantless seizure of the car was unlawful, and that hence the marijuana must be suppressed from evidence. The trial court agreed and dismissed the felony marijuana charge against Mr. Lizee, and the Vermont Supreme Court affirmed.