0° and Clear
Image
Above, defense attorney Timothy R. Flaherty faces Sharon E. Donatelle, Associate Justice for the Massachusetts Superior Court at Norfolk Superior Court on Thursday afternoon.
After previously, on Dec. 23, having his pretriai conference postponed, Franklin resident, James Newton Blanchard V, was scheduled to appear at Norfolk Superior Court on Thursday, Jan. 29, but a somewhat different scenario unfolded instead.
Prosecutors say that on May 24, Blanchard was intoxicated when his pickup truck veered across the center line on Grove Street in Franklin and collided with another car traveling on the opposite side of the road. Occupants of the second car, Krisha Patel, age 5, was pronounced dead that day; her mother, Minaben Patel, 38, succumbed to her injuries several days later. A memorial service in June drew hundreds of mourners from Franklin’s close-knit community. The other occupant of the car, Mr. Patel, received only minor injuries.
When he was arraigned on Friday, Oct. 22, Blanchard pled not guilty to two counts of manslaughter while operating under the influence of liquor and one count of operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury. He had previously been arraigned in Wrentham District Court, where his bail was set at $250,000.
Thursday. after dispatching several other Court matters, the pretrial for Blanchard was announced and Blanchard's attorney, Timothy J. Flaherty and prosecuting attorney, Assistant Norfolk County DA, Sean Riley came forward and stood before the judge, but not Blanchard. Flaherty proceeded to explain, noting that Blanchard was in the courthouse, as was his mother, but that he and Riley were still working to gather and evaluate all evidence through discovery. Flaherty said that during his time at Norfolk County Jail, Blanchard had been 'taking advantage of every program' to deal with the behavior that led to his arrest that the state accident reconstruction report was still not complete [a common problem in Massachusetts --Ed.], but based on the detailed grand jury notes provided to him by the prosecution and the toxicology report, both he and the prosecution felt they would be ready to move forward by late March.
For his part, Riley said "I couldn't have summarized it better myself."
The two men and the Judge agreed to again appear in court on March 30 and include a lobby conference. A lobby conference in a criminal proceeding, most common in Massachusetts, is an informal, off-the-record meeting held between a judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney, often in the judge's chambers (the "lobby") rather than the courtroom. It serves as a final opportunity to resolve a case, discuss evidence, or negotiate plea bargains before a trial.
