New "gun courts" established to stem gun violence in Boston
By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press Writer | January 5, 2006
BOSTON --Two new courts will be established to exclusively prosecute firearms cases, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley announced Thursday, saying it will speed trials and stem the rising gun violence that has struck the city.
Conley reached a deal Thursday with Chief Justice Charles Johnson of the Boston Municipal Court to create the "gun courts," which he said would get criminals off the street faster, improve public confidence in police, and deter would-be criminals.
"All we need to do is take note of what's going on in the city of Boston today to realize where the priority needs to be ... getting a handle on guns and gun-related violence," he said.
Boston had 75 homicides in 2005 -- a 10-year high -- and 51 of those were committed with firearms, according to Boston police statistics. Nonfatal shootings were also up 37 percent, from 210 to 287.
A conviction for carrying an unlicensed firearm carries a mandatory year in prison. But Conley said the cases now take an average of one year to prosecute, and defendants are often out on bail during that time. He said the new courts should cut down the time between arrest and trial to 180 days.
The Rev. Ray Hammond of the anti-crime group Ten Point Coalition said people lose confidence in police when suspects enjoy long periods of freedom before trial.
"There's a sense these things can be done with impunity," he said.
The Rev. Bruce Wall, an anti-crime activist in Boston, called the new courts a "small miracle" that, along with other pending reforms, could help Boston replicate a widely hailed drop in crime in the 1990s.
Wall said he hoped the new courts would set higher bail for gun offenses. Combined with quicker trials, fewer offenders will be on the streets, he said.
The sessions begin Feb. 21. They'll consider cases such as gun and ammunition possession and certain kinds of shootings. The most serious gun crimes will still be tried in superior court.
The new sessions are part of larger legislative effort to fight the surge in violence, including bills to establish a statewide witness protection program and make it illegal to disseminate grand jury testimony.
The court will sit in downtown Boston and in the Roxbury neighborhood. Conley said he's devoting four trial prosecutors and one appellate court prosecutor to handle the cases.
