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Hispanics and the Law in Massachusetts
College of the Holy CrossMarch 27, 2008Class 9: Civil RightsRobert LeRoux Hernandez, Instructor
This class Review the effects of the “greaser”
stereotype Crime and law enforcement The civil rights act Civil litigation
Lawyering Civil procedure and the courts Civil trials Juries The Press
Bender
Greaser ActSleepy lagoon incident
Zoot suit riots
Bender: Images Latina/os criminally inclined Thieves Violent Gangs Weapons Suppliers and users of illicit drugs
Adia
Hispanic beliefs about the police and the legal system
Somerville MA
Most densely populated municipality in New England
Most dense in the United States outside the New York - New Jersey metropolitan area
2000 census, the city had a total population of 77,478
•mix of blue collar Irish-American, Italian American and Portuguese American families throughout city; •immigrant families from Brazil, Haiti, El Salvador, in East Somerville, •from South Korea and India in Union Square•college students and young professionals, near Cambridge, or near Tufts University
Somerville MA
•Residential property values approximately quadrupled from 1991 to 2003•stock of rental housing decreased as lucrative condo conversions become commonplace•Tensions between long-time residents and recent arrivals•problems of working-class families such as drugs, gang violence and suicides
Somerville MA
Somerville MA
Anti-"yuppie" graffitiEconomic clash between several areas of the city of Somerville and Boston and Cambridge
Culture of anti-intellectualism and anti-gentry sentiment spans many generations
petty crime and violence against outsiders.
Parts of the Story
The events of October 8, 1994The criminal prosecutionsThe civil litigationIntakeThe complaintDiscoveryThe trial
Aftermath
Somerville MA-October 8, 1994
Christopher Mittell, 21 German Alfonso,22 John Bossi James Hyde Christopher Ward John Aufiero Timothy Doherty Michael Henderson Joseph Spear
Who was involved?
PlaintiffsDefendantsWitnessesLawyersJudgesJurorsThe Press
Night Games
What happened at Night Games
Why were they there?Who was Michael Henderson?Where were the police?How did Mittell and Alfonso become involved?
What happened to them and why?
Detention
ArrestTransportationJail cellBookingChargesRelease
Criminal prosecution
Somerville District CourtArraignmentTransfer to CambridgePretrial proceduresGetting the verdict
Civil litigation
Seeking representation Choosing clients and casesPermeation of stereotypingContingent fee casesThe Civil Rights Act: 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983
Individual and municipal liabilityThe blue wall
Civil Litigation
The complaintService of processThe answerFederal CourtDiscovery
InterrogatoriesRequests for documentsDepositions
Depositions
Statements under oathTranscriptsVideo depositionsUse at trial
Discovery
The Somerville Drug UnitBossi and HynesTim DohertyMichael HendersonThe cover-up
Police logThe Henderson pictures
Strategies
Finding the fissureCornering HendersonCity delaysEarly Electronic discoveryPrior casesSettlement vs. Trial
Politics
City politics: Michael Capuano Joe Curtatone
Police politicsState politics:
ReilleyHarshbarger
The Trial: Jan. 10-Feb. 8, 1999The JudgeThe jury: Voir direPretrial motions on lost evidencePlaintiff’s case
Henderson recants Doherty sings
The defenseThe chargeThe verdict
Verdict & Post-trialPunitive damages“No injuries”Disbelief of plaintiffs
“financial gain” “Why were they in Somerville, anyway?”
Minimal damagesMunicipal liability left pendingSettlementFee petition
Significance? Damages: making plaintiffs whole Punitive damages Notches against perps? Very stressful trial Publicity about
racism police misconduct Somerville
The press Future conduct?
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Law as mediator of social conflictJustice and ethnicityThe cost of justiceShedding light on social problemsImage and the lawThe long termLatinos and the law in Massachusetts