This Just In: Fecteau Nominated to Appeals Court

By James F. Tierney

Despite having questioned Governor Deval Patrick's fidelity to freedom earlier today, we applaud his recent decision to appoint Francis Fecteau, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge in Worcester, to the state Appeals Court. Fecteau was the judge who, in July 2006, granted a new trial for Bernard Baran, whom Harvey Silverglate is representing as part of Baran's post-conviction defense team. (Harvey and I wrote an article for last week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly about an unjust gag order in the Baran case, which had been imposed by the judge who took over the case from Fecteau.) We hope that Fecteau is promptly confirmed.