Tag: Marshfield High School

BULLETIN – Anarchy charge dropped in massacre plot trial:

The charge of promotion of anarchy has been dropped against Tobin Kerns…

The judge’s decision came after defense attorney William McElligott moved to have all the charges against Kerns dismissed.

In dismissing the anarchy charge, Coffin said the case does not appear to be one where those accused were attempting to recruit others to overthrow the government, even though school officials were allegedly targeted.

Prosecutor John McLaughlin asked for a stay of the decision so the matter could be brought before the Supreme Judicial Court.

Coffin denied the request.

“No. We’re at trial and the matter has been pending for a long time.”

As he left the courtroom for a short break, McLaughlin said to a colleague quietly but loud enough to be heard by others in the courtroom, “He just totally screwed us.”

The charges of threats to use deadly weapons at school and conspiracy to commit murder were not dismissed.

It sounds like that McLaughlin was basing his whole case on the anarchy charge. Let’s hope that’s correct.

Teen admits writing supply list for assault:

Yesterday, Tobin Kerns admitted through his attorney, William McElligott, that he wrote out the list that contained the items one would possibly need to carry out a school assault…

The list was the final – and potentially most crucial – piece of evidence in a case prosecutors built largely upon teenage witnesses recollecting conversations they had two and sometimes three years ago with the defendant.

Police retrieved the list from Kerns’ home on Main Street in Marshfield after his arrest in September 2004. They found it in a bedroom that had been occupied by Joseph Nee, 20, Kerns’ former friend and the alleged mastermind of the plot. Nee lived temporarily with the Kerns the previous spring.

The list found in the Kerns home includes automatic guns, gas masks, a computer-hacking system, acid, bullet-proof vests, propane tanks, galvanized steel and an assortment of ammunition.

First of all, where would two teens be able to get all those items without raising suspicion? Secondly, if that’s the only thing Tobin did, I would be shocked if he even sniffed the inside of a cell. Thirdly, Tobin was arrested on the word of someone who was also arrested on the exact same charges, Joe Nee…

Throughout the trial, McElligott has focused on Nee, portraying him as a manipulative, vengeful young man who tried to blame Kerns for the plot out of fear that Kerns no longer wanted to carry it out and was about to tell police.

As far as I’m concerned, the charges against Tobin Kerns should have been dropped once Joe Nee was arrested.

Kerns trial begins:

This is a much more detailed article that yesterday’s about the trial of Tobin Kerns. I’ll just recap the highlights.

Daniel Farley and Joseph Sullivan both testified that Joe Nee destroyed evidence about the plot and tried deflecting guilt on to Toby Kerns. Like I’ve been theorizing, Farley stated that Nee was worried that Tobin Kerns would report Nee. Farley said that Kerns never talked about Columbine unless Nee was present.

Marshfield High School 2006 graduate Tim Courchene testified that Nee, Kerns, Farley, and Sullivan tried to recruit him as a shooter, but he declined. Courchene also testified that after Kerns received psychological help at a mental health facility, that Tobin no longer wanted any part of the plot.

Assistant District Attorney John McLaughlin in his opening argument that Sullivan and Farley’s testimony would prove that Kerns and Nee conspired to recruit others in their plan. The only thing that I’ve seen the testimony prove so far is that Tobin Kerns got help and tried to get out of the plot.

Students Testify In Marshfield School Plot Trial:

The trial of Tobin Kerns is finally underway. Read the article and watch the video. Does the media make Toby out to be a monster, or am I just imagining things? However, from the brief media report about today’s proceedings, it looks like things are going the right way. Except for the police, it looks like the prosecution’s witnesses all point the finger at Joe Nee. On Wednesday, the defense will present. For the sake of Toby and his family, I pray to God he’s found not guilty.

Kerns trial starts Monday:

The trial of Toby Kerns is supposed to get underway again this Monday, October 15th. For those of you who have not heard about this case, it’s been going on for the past two years.

Toby was arrested for plotting an attack against Marshfield High School in Marshfield, Mass. The only problem is the person who turned him in is also implicated in the plot. Joe Nee, who is being tried separately, turned Tobin in but was arrested later after others implicated Nee.

Joe Nee is the son of the head of the Boston Police union. Joe Nee also has a Columbine fascination and wore a shirt to school that had pictures of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that said: “Remember The Heroes”. In my opinion, Joe Nee implicated Tobin Kerns when Tobin opted out of the plot.

Joe Nee has obvious police connections. My theory is Joe Nee implicated Tobin before Tobin could implicate Nee. For more details, you can check the Marshfield archives.

With any luck, Tobin will be exonerated.

Kerns trial slated for Oct. 15:

Excuse me, but I’ve heard this before…

I’m just over it,” Tobin “Toby” Kerns said last April.

With these words, Kerns, 18, captured the frustration and exhaustion he and his family have suffered through over the past two years-two long and cumbersome years peppered with bumps, curves, holdups and setbacks since his 2004 arrest.

But come October, it will all be over.

On Thursday, Judge Louis Coffin announced an Oct. 15 start date for Kerns’ trial, which will take place in Plymouth Juvenile Court. The trial will take place over the course of five days until Oct. 20, Coffin said.

Kerns was arrested for his alleged connection to a detailed plan to orchestrate a Columbine-like attack on Marshfield High School in September, 2004 after three students-Joseph Nee, Daniel Farley and Joseph Sullivan- all former MHS students, gave Kerns’ name to police in connection with the plot.

Nee, 20, was arrested in October of that year after Farley and Sullivan later came to police implicating his involvement in the planned attack. According to Kern’s father, Ben, Nee lived with them for a few weeks during the spring of 2004. He claims Nee, not his son, was the one behind the planned attack and was the one surfing dangerous sites on the Web.

Kerns and Nee are being tried separately on charges of promotion of anarchy, conspiracy to commit murder and threatened use of a deadly weapon, but both have maintained their innocence since their arrests. Nee, who was 18 at the time of the incident, is set to be tried in Brockton Superior Court while Kerns, who was then only 16, will be tried as a juvenile. If convicted, both could serve up to 43 years in prison.

Still no word on when Joe Nee goes to trial.

Kerns case will go to trial in fall:

I’m still not holding my breath on that one, but in other news, Farley and Sullivan have been granted immunity in the trial of Tobin Kerns…

A single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court ruled last week to enact immunity for two key witnesses in Kerns upcoming trial, bringing an end to another legal stalemate that had kept the case from moving forward.

Kerns, 18, and Joseph Nee, 20, both former Marshfield High School students, are facing trial separately for their alleged involvement in staging a Columbine-like attack on the high school in 2004. Kerns, was arrested in September of that year after Nee and two other MHS students – Joseph Sullivan and Daniel Farely – informed he school resource officer about the plot. A few weeks later, Nee was also arrested after Farley and Sullivan implicated him in the planned attack on the school.

Kerns and Nee were both charged with promotion of anarchy, conspiracy to commit murder and threatened use of a deadly weapon after police found materials at Kerns’ home outlining a planned attack on Marshfield High School. Police found a binder and evidence that Kerns’ computer had been used to look at Web sites like the Anarchist’s Cookbook, which explains how to make explosives. Nee had been staying with the Kerns family for a few weeks earlier in the spring, and Kerns father, Ben has argued that the materials in the binder belonged to him, not his son.

Kerns’ trial was set to start in March, but things came to a standstill when Farley and Sullivan sought immunity under the Fifth Amendment out of fear they might incriminate themselves through their testimonies.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s office then sought to enact immunity in the Nee trial in hopes of carrying immunity over into the Kerns trial.

While immunity was granted to both witnesses in Superior Court, Judge Louis Coffin said in April he was unsure if he had the authority to grant immunity in Juvenile Court, citing a ruling in Commonwealth vs. Russ, a 2001 case that set a precedent against enacting immunity in juvenile cases. Assistant District Attorney John McLaughlin then brought the matter before a single Supreme Judicial Court Justice in Boston.

If this helps Tobin get exonerated, then I’m all for it, but I can’t shake the feeling that two people who were complicit in the plot are getting away.

Supreme court judge to rule on immunity in Kerns case:

All lawyers involved with the trials of Tobin Kerns and Joe Nee argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Court on the immunity issues of Nee’s cohorts Joseph Sullivan and Daniel Farley…

Justice Martha Sosman met with Kerns’ attorney William McElligott, Sullivan’s attorney Robert Dimler and Gail McKenna from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office Friday, where attorneys pled their case to allow for immunity to be upheld in Kerns’ impending trial. The trial was set to start in March, but things came to a standstill when Farley and Sullivan sought immunity under the Fifth Amendment.

The DA’s office then sought to enact immunity in the Nee trial in hopes of carrying immunity over into the Kerns trial.

While immunity was granted to both witnesses in Superior Court, Judge Louis Coffin said in April he was unsure if he had the authority to grant immunity in Juvenile Court, citing a ruling in Commonwealth vs. Russ, a 2001 case that set a precedent against enacting immunity in juvenile cases. Assistant District Attorney John McLaughlin then moved to bring the matter before a single Supreme Judicial Court Justice in Boston.

Torn between making a decision herself and seeking the counsel of the full bench, Sosman asked how time-sensitive the Kerns case was. While each attorney said they would support a decision before the full bench if necessary, they sought an answer to the immunity issue as soon as possible.

“We would have no problem with a full court decision, but my client is seeking a speedy resolution,” McElligott said.

McKenna argued in favor of enacting immunity in the Kerns case, saying that the immunity granted in Superior Court must be upheld in all courts and counties through the state. She said if a decision were given Friday against the Commonwealth’s favor, the Commonwealth would likely appeal the decision before the full bench.

More appeals. More delays. And still no justice for Tobin.

Immunity appeal continues to hold up Kerns case:

You know if I’m talking about the trial of Tobin Kerns you know I’m talking about another delay…

It’s been a long and winding road to trial for Marshfield teenager Tobin “Toby” Kerns, but attorneys from both the defense and prosecution are hoping a July status hearing will be the end of the line.

Kerns went before Judge Louis Coffin once again Thursday in Plymouth Juvenile Court, where another pretrial hearing was set for July 17.

In April, Assistant District Attorney John McLaughlin requested that immunity be granted in Kerns’ trial in Juvenile Court on the grounds that Farley and Sullivan were granted immunity in Brockton Superior Court for the Nee trial. Coffin rejected the proposal, citing a decision rendered in Commonwealth vs. Russ, a 2001 case that set a precedent against granting immunity in juvenile cases. McLaughlin appealed the decision to a judge in the state Supreme Judicial Court in hopes of securing immunity in Kerns’ case. A decision from a Judicial Court justice is still pending.

“They feel the issue of immunity shouldn’t be a problem,” Kerns’ attorney William McElligott said.

While attorneys hoped to settle upon a start date for trial at Thursday’s hearing, the appeal by the Commonwealth is still going through the motions, McElligott said. He said he’s hoping the immunity issue will be settled by the July hearing so a date for trial can be set. McElligott said should the Commonwealth receive a ruling from the Judicial Court before the next hearing, a trial date could be set sooner.

While he’s hoping for the best, McElligott said it’s possible that the appeals process could drag on further if the decision does not go in favor of the Commonwealth. He said the Commonwealth could appeal the decision by a single justice to go before the entire Judicial Court.

So now Toby will continue to have this hanging over his head like a guillotine for a crime that he more than likely did not commit.

Pathetic.