Judge of the Day: Patrick Brady

A news flash for criminal defendants, courtesy of a helpful tipster: “Apparently punching out an elderly juror is no longer a surefire way to get a mistrial in your case.” Or as a second reader quipped: “Did you see this? Defendant punches a juror. Mistrial? Not so much.”
From the Boston Herald:

A tough-as-nails judge yesterday sent a message to courtroom clowns seeking to disrupt their trials, denying a defendant who cold-cocked a juror a mistrial and instead ordering him chained to the floor.

“It is becoming increasingly common for violent” offenders to try to “derail” their trials by creating chaos, said Suffolk Superior Court Judge Patrick F. Brady. But accused cop shooter Richard Glawson, 46, would not prevail as a martyr of mayhem.

Though “they saw everything that transpired” Friday when Glawson laid out a male juror as the others tried to run or were trapped trembling and weeping, Brady refused to release the remaining panelists or question them as to whether they could still decide the case without prejudice.

Good for Judge Brady. We just hope they don’t give him too a hard time on appeal.
Update: Judge Brady subsequently reversed himiself, and declared a mistrial. That was lame, Your Honor!
But it sounds like the appellate mandarins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court — who don’t have to deal with violent offenders day in and day out, safely ensconced in the SJC’s ivory tower — may have forced Judge Brady’s hand.
Case continues despite attack: Judge refuses to let courtroom chaos end in mistrial [Boston Herald]
Mistrial declared in chaos case [Boston Herald]

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