By Brian Fraga
Standard-Times staff writer
May 09, 2007 6:00 AM
SouthCoast lawmakers are proposing a gun court for Bristol County to deal exclusively with firearms violations and, according to the bill's sponsor, "put criminals behind bars as soon as possible."
State Rep. Robert Correia, D-Fall River, filed legislation proposing the court, and the House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on the bill Tuesday.
Rep. Correia, who said he was prompted to take action by growing public safety concerns over gun violence, said the gun court would expedite prosecutions of illegal gun cases.
"In the last few years, we have seen a rise in the presence of guns in Fall River," Rep. Correia said. "The creation of this court means less criminals with guns on our streets and in our neighborhoods because it will enable the expediting of gun-related cases."
The bill lists as co-sponsors Reps. Stephen R. Canessa, D-New Bedford, John F. Quinn, D-Dartmouth, Robert M. Koczera, D-New Bedford, and Michael J. Rodrigues, D-Westport.
Rep. Canessa said a gun court would make it easier for prosecutors to go after criminals charged with possessing illegal guns.
"Given some of the recent issues we've had with guns, gangs and youth violence," Rep. Canessa said the timing for the proposal is right.
"Anytime our area, Southeastern Massachusetts, can be leading the state on some of these issues of public safety, we should take every opportunity to do so."
Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, who made prosecuting gun crimes a key theme during his campaign, is endorsing the gun court as a valuable means to getting guns off the streets, his spokesman Gregg Miliote said.
"We are all in favor of a gun court coming to Bristol County," Mr. Miliote said. "A gun court would expedite gun cases and would be the perfect place to hold hearings under the dangerousness statute. It will only assist us in our ability to crack down on illegal guns."
Gun courts have proliferated across the country in recent years, according to the National Center for State Courts. The nation's first gun court was established 1994 in Providence. The sentencing rate of gun cases in Providence increased from 67 percent before the court's institution to 82 percent in the ensuing four years, the NCSC said.
Suffolk County instituted its gun court in February 2006. Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in March that the court has been a success by clearing a three-year backlog and enabling prosecutors to attain an 87.6 percent conviction rate in gun cases.
In its first year, the Suffolk County Gun Court cleared gun cases that had been in the pipeline since 2004. New cases are now resolved in six months. Out of 213 viable gun cases, 170 individuals have been convicted, with an additional 34 being indicted in Superior Court, where defendants face harsher penalties for gun possession.
A 2006 report from the state Legislature's Committee on Public Safety recommended that Suffolk County's Gun Court program be expanded to other jurisdictions with high levels of gun violence.
"Gun Court has met or exceeded every goal we set for it," Mr. Conley said March 1 in a written statement. "Its effectiveness as a punishment and deterrent for those who would use guns in our city is indisputable."
Rep. Correia believes instituting a gun court is a better option for fighting illegal guns than passing more laws.
"In Massachusetts, we have probably some of the strictest gun laws of any state in the country, but we have a problem with how they are being prosecuted," he said. "If we have a court specifically versed in the gun laws, I think you would see a better application of those laws."
Bristol County prosecutors have been particularly active in illegal gun cases during Mr. Sutter's brief tenure as district attorney.
Since January, Mr. Sutter's office has held 25 dangerousness hearings. Defendants charged with a felony and possession of an illegal gun can be held up to 90 days in prison upon a prosecutor's request. In a dangerousness hearing, the prosecution has to prove a defendant possessed an illegal gun, that there is probable cause a crime was committed and that no other terms of release can reasonably assure the safety of the community.
Mr. Miliote said Bristol County prosecutors have prevailed in 22 of 24 dangerousness hearings, and have attained four illegal gun convictions. He said a gun court would free up the backlog in New Bedford District Court, and increase efficiency.
"Cases in general get bogged down," he said. "If we create a gun court, things will be expedited and move a lot more swiftly. It will open a lot of space in the other courts. Everybody wins in this particular situation."
New Bedford District Court has had a separate drug court, and that has worked well in narcotics-related cases, Rep. Quinn said.
"Drugs and guns are really the scourge of society down here," Rep. Quinn said. "Focusing on those two things specifically would be good for crime-fighting in this area and serve everybody well."
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