Kerrigan v. Scafati

247 F. Supp. 713, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9200
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedNovember 29, 1965
DocketMisc. No. 65-32-F
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 247 F. Supp. 713 (Kerrigan v. Scafati) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kerrigan v. Scafati, 247 F. Supp. 713, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9200 (D. Mass. 1965).

Opinion

FRANCIS J. W. FORD, District Judge.

This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought by one John J. Kerrigan who is at present in custody under sentence of death following his conviction September 21, 1961 on an indictment charging him with murder. This conviction was affirmed, Commonwealth v. Ker-rigan, 345 Mass. 508, 188 N.E.2d 484, and the denial of a subsequent motion for a new trial was affirmed. Commonwealth v. Kerrigan, 346 Mass. 786, 196 N.E.2d 190, cert. denied, 377 U.S. 1004, 84 S.Ct. 1943, 12 L.Ed.2d 1054. In a second motion for a new trial Kerrigan raised, apparently for the first time, the constitutional questions on which he relies in his present petition. Denial of this motion was affirmed, Commonwealth v. Kerrigan, Mass., 207 N.E.2d 882.

FINDINGS OF FACT

In the early morning of September 3, 1960 Laurence W. Gorman, an officer of the Cambridge Police Department, was shot and died shortly thereafter. One Edgar W. Cook was arrested near the murder scene. He had been shot in the leg. The police had evidence indicating that a companion had been with Cook at the scene of the murder.

Cook was indicted for the murder of Gorman. On May 14,1961, before he had been brought to trial, he and another prisoner named Porter escaped from jail. In the course of the escape Robinson, the deputy master of the jail, was murdered. On May 17, 1961 one Fratus informed the police that Cook had been brought to Fratus’ apartment. When the police tried to enter the apartment, Cook shot himself and died a few hours later.

On September 3, 1960 Officer John F. Galligan of the Cambridge Police was investigating the murder of Gorman. He met petitioner John J. Kerrigan on the street, arrested him and took him to the Cambridge Police Station at about 3:10 p. m.

Kerrigan was questioned at the police station from 3:35 p. m. to about 5:00 p. m. He told police to ask him anything they wanted and that he would tell them anything they wanted to know. He was cooperative and voluntarily talked during the conversation. The questions put to Kerrigan dealt with his whereabouts on that morning and on the previous day and whether or not he knew Edgar Cook.

Cook on September 3 had been booked on suspicion of the murder of Gorman. During the interrogation on September 3 Kerrigan was never accused of that murder, nor in any manner was he a prime suspect. After the interrogation he remained in the police station smoking and drinking coffee until he was released at 4:00 a. m. on September 4, 1960.

Kerrigan was informed by the' police that he could use the telephone to call a lawyer. He did not ask to use the phone for this purpose but did ask for and received permission to call his sister, who came to meet him at the station when he was released.

During September 3 and 4, 1960 several other persons were brought in by the Cambridge police and questioned about the Gorman murder. A general investigation of the Gorman murder was being conducted by the police.

Kerrigan was known to the police to have become acquainted with Edgar Cook while both had been serving sentences at the Walpole Correctional Institution, and believed by them to have associated with Cook after their release.

On April 26,1961 Kerrigan was arrested at his home by the Boston police. He was booked on suspicion of robbery of a loan company in Boston, was questioned [715]*715about that robbery, and released on the same day. This arrest was entirely unrelated to the Gorman murder. At the time of Kerrigan’s arrest, one John W. Fratus was with him in his home. Kerri-gan introduced Fratus to the police as a Mr. Creighton. Before taking Kerrigan from his home the arresting officers permitted him to use the telephone to call a friend. At the police station he was informed that he had a right to use the telephone to call a lawyer, but did not ask to do so. No interrogation of Kerri-gan as a result of this arrest was used at his trial.

On May 17,1961 Officers Cunningham and Moar of the Boston Police Department, as a result of information given to the police by Fratus, above referred to, that Kerrigan had brought Edgar Cook, the escapist who had been indicted for the Gorman murder, to Fratus’ apartment, entered Kerrigan’s home with drawn guns, arrested him and handcuffed him. On this occasion he was not allowed to use the telephone before being taken from the house. Officers Cunningham and Moar were not investigating the Gorman murder.

Kerrigan was taken by the officers to Fratus’ apartment at 41 Bay State Road, Boston, where shortly before Cook had shot himself. These officers on the way to Bay State Road did not accuse Ker-rigan of the Gorman murder; they were not investigating it and did not question him about it. Also, they did not tell him that Cook had made a statement implicating him in that murder.

Kerrigan was not questioned at Bay State Road, made no request for a lawyer, and after a short while was taken to Boston Police Headquarters where he was booked on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Robinson, the jail officer who was murdered during Cook’s escape from jail. At the time he was booked his attention was called to a sign posted in the police station about five feet from where he was standing which read in pertinent part as follows:

“BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT ATTENTION!
ALL PERSONS UNDER ARREST READ THIS NOTICE
RIGHT TO USE TELEPHONE BY PERSONS UNDER ARREST
CHAPTER 276 OF THE GENERAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 33A. — The police official in charge of the station or other place of detention having a telephone wherein a person is held in custody, shall permit the use of the telephone, at the expense of the arrested person, for the purpose of allowing the arrested person to communicate with his family or friends, or to arrange for release on bail, or to engage the services of an attorney. Any such person shall be informed of his right to so use the telephone immediately upon being booked, and such use shall be permitted within one hour thereafter.”

Kerrigan made no request to use the telephone to call a lawyer and made no request for one. At Kerrigan’s request, however, before he had been booked, Lieutenant Jordan allowed him to use the telephone to call a friend, a Mrs. Hathaway. He told her where he was and asked her to inform his sister that the sister’s child had been left unattended at home when he was taken away by the police. He also told her that he was all right, that he did not need a lawyer, evidence of a waiver, and that he would be out of there in the morning. The Court finds he could have had the assistance of a lawyer if he wished. Obviously, the Gor-man and Robinson murders and the escape of Cook, occurring in Cambridge, were not the concern of the Boston Police. He was booked by the Boston Police on May 17, 1961 on suspicion of being [716]*716an accessory after the fact of the Robinson murder.

About 11:15 p. m. on May 17, 1961 Kerrigan was lodged in the Boston City Jail. About 2:30 a. m.

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Related

Commonwealth v. Kerrigan
346 N.E.2d 905 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
247 F. Supp. 713, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kerrigan-v-scafati-mad-1965.