Freedom watch

Second thoughts

by Harvey A. Silverglate

Cambridge District Court Judge Michele B. Hogan, who slapped criminal-defense attorney Daniel Beck with a contempt-of-court charge January 26 (see "Courtroom (Mis)behavior," This Just In, April 7), reversed herself earlier this week. In doing so, she avoided a hearing, scheduled for this past Tuesday, during which Beck's attorney James Sultan was prepared to play a courtroom tape recording that would have proved Hogan was out of line when she cited Beck for contempt.

The Phoenix listened to the recording, and it's clear that Beck was vigorously defending the rights of a defendant. But he did not, as Hogan claimed, shout and stomp in her courtroom. "Judge Hogan looked at the case again and realized she was wrong," comments veteran Boston criminal-defense lawyer Norman S. Zalkind, who has himself endured various attempts by judges to hold him in contempt for championing the rights of his clients. "She did what judges are supposed to do -- she reversed herself. I commend her."

Others are less generous toward the judge. "A defense lawyer who represents many poor people, who have a hard enough time getting zealous representation, was dragged from the courtroom in handcuffs and spent a half-hour in jail because of this," says one observer. Still others say they will ask the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to consider whether a formal complaint should be filed with the Judicial Conduct Commission. They add that they believe Beck's exoneration has not resolved the underlying problem that got him in trouble in the first place: many judges allow prosecutors and police to postpone bail and detention hearings unnecessarily, thereby keeping certain defendants in jail longer than the law allows.