Tag: Marshfield High School

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.

School massacre-plot trial hits new snag: Immunity appeal could cause delay lasting months:

I hate to make this sound like a soap opera, but they couldn’t write this more like one.

Anyway, the last we left the situation in Marshfield the trial of Tobin Kerns was delayed once again because witnesses for the prosecution, Daniel Farley and Joseph Sullivan, refused to testify on the day of the trial unless they were granted immunity.

That immunity was granted to them last week. Now the DA is appealing that decision, which could take months.

It will be interesting to see if the trial of Joe Nee will have this many delays, considering Nee is the son of a Boston cop.

Judge sets April hearing in alleged school plot:

This is another article about the two witnesses who requested immunity in the Tobin Kerns trial. Pretty much all you need to know is in the following two paragraphs…

Kerns, 17, is charged with conspiracy to commit crimes, promotion of anarchy, and threatened use of deadly weapons at school. Kerns, then a junior at Marshfield High, was arrested in September 2004 after three fellow students — Joseph Nee, Daniel Farley, and Joseph Sullivan — told police that he was planning an attack on the high school and had compiled a hit list of students, school officials, and police officers, authorities say.

Farley and Sullivan were expected to testify against Kerns on Tuesday. The court appointed attorneys to counsel them about their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The trial was delayed when the youths requested, through their court-appointed lawyers, immunity from being prosecuted as coconspirators.

So Nee, Farley, and Sullivan went to the police to report Kerns. Now all of a sudden, they want immunity. I wonder if it’s because they don’t want to incriminate themselves, or they don’t want to incriminate Nee who is the son of the head of the Boston Police union?

Some people from Marshfield who have contacted me or have left comments on my site have said that Farley and Sullivan should have been arrested too. It’s starting to look like they may have been right.

Trial Of School Plot Suspect Delayed Until April:

As I’ve previously mentioned, the trial of Tobin Kerns has been delayed while prosecutors work out possible immunity deals for two witnesses. Well, the judge has postponed the trial until April…

Plymouth Juvenile Court Judge Louis Coffin on Wednesday granted a delay until April 13 to give prosecutors time to ask a Superior Court judge to grant immunity to the witnesses. Juvenile Court judges do not have the authority to grant immunity.

Kerns’ lawyer is upset about the delay, saying the immunity issue should have been resolved before the start of the trial.

I wonder how this is going to affect the trial of Joe Nee. I’m sure these two associates of his will be witnesses for his defense. Will Nee’s trial take place on time? And again, why didn’t the prosecution get these immunity deals, or no deals, done before the trial started? Are they trying to stall, pinning their hopes on a Nee acquittal so it would be easier to get Tobin convicted?

Since Tobin’s trial is being decided by a judge and not a jury, the immunity deals I’m sure would not sway the judge as it would a jury. As each day passes, the whole situation stinks more and more of a screwjob.

Yesterday, I talked about how the Tobin Kerns trial was delayed because two of the witnesses for the prosecution requested full immunity for their testimony.

I have confirmed that the two witnesses are known associates of Joe Nee who a lot of people in the Marshfield community think should be on trial along with Nee. I won’t divulge their names, as they have not appeared in the media as of yet.

If they are invoking their Fifth Amendment rights on the first day of trial, it’s obvious they have something to hide. My guess would be is that they were an integral part of the plot that was supposed to be carried out.

I think their testimony would also incriminate Nee. You would think that if the DA was going to offer immunity, they would have done so by now. Now, there is a question of whether Fifth Amendment rights apply in juvenile court.

Why isn’t the prosecution being reprimanded for not being prepared? I’m usually not one for conspiracies, but this whole situation smells of a screwjob. It sounds like that there are outside influences that are affecting this trial.

MARSHFIELD HIGH: Who’s lying? Teen eager for judge to hear his side in school attack plot:

For those of you that have been following my site for a while, you’re familiar with the case out of Marshfield, Mass. Well, the trial of Tobin Kerns finally starts tomorrow. I did not know this previously, but Tobin has waived the right to a jury trial and the trial will be decided by Plymouth County Juvenile Court Judge Louis Coffin.

He’s facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder, promotion of anarchy and threatening to use deadly weapons at school. I really hope Tobin is found not guilty, and I’ll tell you why. Let me show you with the following quotes…

Former classmate Joseph Nee, now 20, faces identical charges. Kerns was arrested in September 2004, Nee in October 2004. Both were indicted later that month and have been free on $20,000 bail.

Benjamin Kerns was critical of authorities for continuing to blame his son as others suggested that Nee was the ringleader.

‘‘Within a day, the students all knew the truth,’’ Benjamin Kerns said. ‘‘By that time, the DA had already charged him and were racing forward with things.’’

Within days of posting the original story, I received comments from Marshfield High students defending Tobin Kerns and naming Joe Nee by name as the true ringleader. It took months before someone came forward to defend Joe Nee.

I’ve never met Tobin Kerns, but I am very anxious for his trial to be over and that he comes out ok. I think he is being railroaded by a questionable accuser. I still think that Joe Nee accused Tobin of being the ringleader in order to deflect blame from himself before Tobin went to police.

What really scares me is that Tobin is being tried as a youthful offender, which means if convicted he could receive an adult sentence if convicted.

I pray to God that Judge Coffin sees the truth and finds Tobin Kerns innocent.

Nee trial set to start in March:

The last time I heard anything out of Marshfield it was the fact that Joe Nee’s attorney, the ever-humorous Thomas Drechsler, was trying to get a change of venue for his client. According to the article, that request was denied on January 3rd.

Assistant District Attorney John McLaughlin dismissed the need for a change of venue, saying that the media is something that comes along with any court case.

“I personally do not see a great prejudice here,” McLaughlin said. “The media is just something we have to deal with.”

Dreschler argued that due to the local media coverage his client could not receive a fair trial.

For those of you just joining us, here is the lowdown on Joe Nee…

Nee was arrested Oct. 18, 2004, a month after fellow Marshfield High School student Tobin “Toby” Kerns was taken into custody and charged with promotion of anarchy, conspiracy to commit murder and threatened use of a deadly weapon after police learned of a Columbine-like attack the two allegedly planned at Marshfield High School.

Dreschler also tried getting the promotion of anarchy dismissed. That request has been shot down as well.

Dreschler also has a problem with the media’s focus on Joe Nee’s father Thomas Nee who happens to be head of the Boston Police union.

Drechsler also said that the media has maintained too strong a focus on Thomas Nee, Joseph’s father who is president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association. He said Nee has been frequently referred to as “the son of a powerful police patrolman.”

“He’s (Nee) an extremely visual person for reasons completely unrelated to this case,” Drechsler said. “He has no relation to this case other than that of a concerned parent.”

Concerned parent, my ass. For once, I agree with the media and Thomas Nee should be looked at. Joe Nee was the one who went to police to implicate Toby Kerns. Joe Nee wasn’t arrested until a month later. I think it needs to be known if Joe Nee received any special treatment or if there was any impropriety because of his dad’s position.

Dreschler, as usual, has a problem with Toby Kerns’ dad, Ben Kerns, going to the media. If my son was arrested but innocent, I would be telling anybody who listened. It almost seems like that someone is afraid of the truth.

Anyway, the trail has been set for a March 23rd start date. I hope a jury can see through Mr. Dreschler’s chicanery.