Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

This Boston criminal lawyer believes that we are moving up another notch in criminal liability in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts….probably nation-wide in fact.

A famous, and late, gent of the 1500’s , John Donne, once wrote that no man is an island. In other words, we are all connected and must interact with each other. It suggests that we all have some sort of responsibility for one another.

Such an idea is not foreign to the justice systems, both civil and criminal. As this is the criminal lawyers blog, let’s stay on the criminal side.

The idea that someone has the responsibility of someone else has long been situational in the criminal justice system. While there has not necessarily been a duty to intervene in a crime, or even report it, there have, of late, been exceptions to the rule.

For example, a health care professional or an educator has a duty to report any potential of child abuse. A therapist, who’s patient’s sessions are normally kept confidential, must take some action if that patient seems to be an imminent threat to someone else.

Now, coming to the aid of a potential victim is, of course, not always easy to do. First of all, doing so might get one hurt or killed. Second, nobody really loves to be drawn into the criminal justice theatre, be it witness or defendant. However, particularly in the wake of Penn State’s sexual assault scandal, the rules of culpability may be about to become harsher.

Speaking of being responsible for another, criminal defense attorneys have a certain responsibility to their clients. With that in mind, one may wonder what was passing for strategy when Jerry Sandusky (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) agreed to be interviewed on national television this week. The general rule is that criminal defendants, factually guilty or innocent, should not give interviews about the pending charges. It is too dangerous. There are certain exceptions, of course, but, near as I can tell, this was not one of them.

In fact, there is a chance the media frenzy on the story would have died down a bit had the Defendant not taken the near-legally-suicidal step of chatting with Bob Costas. Clear thinking notwithstanding, there he was, as his defense attorney sat by on camera, states away from his client, who was happily talking about towel-snapping and horseplay in the shower with nude children.

Maybe an insanity plea is in the works…

“But, Sam, clearly any problem the Defendant has with his lawyer’s advice would be a civil matter, not a criminal one.”

Yes, of course. And, in days gone by, the failure to act to protect someone would also be a civil matter. And, it should be pointed out that criminal charges have not been brought against anyone other than the Defendant.

Yet.
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Attorney Sam’s Take On The Criminal Liability Of The Penn State Debacle

Students are protesting it. News stations are broadcasting debates about it. And, yes, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog is discussing it.

It has come light that Penn State had a problem with sexual assault over the years. The alleged perpetrator was assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky (hereinafter, the “Defendant”).

The Defendant has been arrested, but allegations of wrongdoing do not end there in this case.

During the course of the state investigation into the matter, allegations have emerged that law enforcement, which began an investigation into the allegations, closed that investigation without doing anything about alleged felonies. Further, it has been discovered that the President Graham Spanier and famed head Coach Joe Paterno were aware of the Defendant’s activities but also did nothing about it.

Result?

As the spotlight has been pointed into a dark hole in the university’s protective coating, law enforcement and college officials have not been forced into action. Now, years after the fact, Spanier and Paterno have been fired. Most recently, as last week came to a close, Mike McQueary, was placed on administrative leave for the same reason. Kinda sorta. He had told someone…just did not go far enough.

But the result at the time?

The victims, and other victims, now known and unknown, stayed victimized and, it would seem, the problem persisted. The allegedly guilty remained unaccused and unpunished.

Of course, this is not the first time we have heard of such things. Over the past several years, we have been inundated with reports and court actions in connection with similar activities by the clergy while those in charge turned their heads in all kinds of angles in order to ignore the criminal and…one might guess…sinful activities.

And so now, years later, the news is out and Messrs.’. Spanier, McQueary and Paterno ( hereinafter referred to as the “Fired”) are released by the university in disgrace.

However, it is worth noting that they are not the alleged perpetrators parties. In other words, there is no allegation that they themselves molested any students or, actively encouraged any such actions.

Or is that really true?
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