July 22, 2004
Hi Everyone,
Today I had a very rewarding experience. I went into Boston with a friend to be present for Michael's civil suit against his trial lawyer. Michael has filed a civil action complaint against his trial lawyer, seeking compensatory damages and declaratory judgment on the claim of Legal Malpractice. This suit is much more then just Michael winning a monetary settlement, it goes to the heart of the matter that Michael was wrongfully convicted because he did not have competent, effective legal consul during his trial.
As many of you know, that follow Michael's case, one of the key reasons Michael was convicted was because of ineffective assistance of counsel. The odds against Michael winning this suit are pretty high because the Courts and the legal community do not like to rule against one of their own. However this case just doesn't seem to go away. The defendant (trial lawyer) is represented by a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General and she keeps filing motions to dismiss the suit. The judge in turn keeps overruling these motions but has also given the defendant every opportunity to win the suit, but alas the suit goes on.
Today's motion was to dismiss the suit on the grounds that because the defendant was a public defender working for CPCS that he was protected against negligence and legal malpractice.
What was different about today's motion was that for the first time Michael was present in court. He was in court as the Plaintiff representing himself. Michael answered the defendant's lawyer motion to dismiss the suit by stating that the defendant's actions were not only negligent but intentional, and because the defendant's actions were intentional he (defendant) was not protected from a civil suit because he was working for CPCS. Not only was Michael able to argue this point successfully but he backed it up with a case that substantiated his point.
How did Michael do? He was poised, polite, and competent. He was knowledgeable about the facts and presented his side very effectively. My friend and I thought he did an outstanding job, but then we may have been prejudice. So I'll let the judge in the case describe Michael's performance. The judge said "you may not be an attorney but you did a good job." I think that speaks for itself.
Was the suit dismissed or awarded? Not yet. The judge stated he will take the suit under advisement. The fact that this case has gone on as long as it has shows Michael continues to present a compelling argument for having a settlement in his favor.
I'll keep you informed as further developments in this suit happen.
God bless all of you.
Dick Blanchard
dickleb@aol.com
P.S. If these email messages and updates are not in harmony with your thinking at this time please let me know, and I'll remove your name from this list.
