Three legal cases attracting attention in Boston
With Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team filing a placeholder appeal on his June 23, 2015 death sentence in the Boston Marathon Bombing case, the revelation that comedian Bill Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to women in 2005, so he could sexual assault them, and several lawsuits pending between casino mogul Steve Wynn and the city of Boston, it’s no wonder Bostonians are looking for guidance to dissect the significance of these cases.
WGBH legal analyst and Northeastern University Law professor Daniel Medwed joined WGBH Morning Edition host Bob Seay to break it down and make sense of it all.
The Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Case
Tsarnaev’s defense team filed an appeal on Monday to act as a placeholder to meet an August 17th deadline.
Medwed says, “It really is a belt and suspenders type of motion,” he says. “[There is] nothing substantive here. The Defense has not given much of a signal about what issues it plans to raise.”
The Defense could utilize the appeal to file claims stating that the ruling was an unfit punishment with insufficient evidence to back it.
The Bill Cosby Case
There’s stinging reaction from the recently released 2005 court documents showing comedian Bill Cosby admitted in court documents to obtaining Quaaludes to sexually assault women. "It could be a game-changer in some legal cases pending against him," according to Medwed.
“This admission contained in the 2005 deposition would be an exception to the ban against so called hearsay evidence and could come in against Bill Cosby in a subsequent civil or criminal case.”
The admission could be used to validate the stories of the victims, as well as lessen the skepticism from critics.
Steve Wynn versus Boston and Mayor Walsh
This week attorneys for Wynn Resorts threatened to sue Mayor Marty Walsh for defamation after the city filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block Wynn resorts from building a casino in Everett.
According to Medwed a defamation claim argues that aspects of the lawsuit could be untrue and damaging to Wynn’s reputation.
“Defamation suits are usually averted through an apology,” Medwed says. “So it remains to be seen whether Mayor Walsh will apologize.”
There is also another lawsuit now pending against Wynn from another group over the MBTA allowing some land use.
To listen to the full interview WGBH legal analyst Daniel Medwed and Morning Edition’s Bob Seay, click on the audio file above.
