Indiana
Defense wants video out of boy's shooting trial
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- The attorney for an 11-year-old central Indiana boy charged with fatally shooting his 6-year-old brother is asking a judge to suppress a videotaped statement the boy made to police after the shooting.
Attorney John Boren said the boy wasn't given proper time to consult with his parents as required by law before waiving his right to have an attorney present when he was questioned July 1, The Reporter-Times reported. That was the day after 6-year-old Andrew Frye was fatally shot with a .22 caliber rifle.
A hearing on Boren's motion to suppress evidence was held Tuesday. Boren said an Indiana Supreme Court ruling requires that a juvenile suspect's Miranda rights must be given to both the parent and the child. The juvenile then must be given time to consult with parents before being asked to sign a waiver giving up the right to have an attorney present, he said.
"There was no waiver because there must be meaningful consultation" before the waiver is signed, Boren said. "The officer never said (the boy) didn't have to talk to him. Here you have an 11-year-old talking to a police officer in a jail, what do you think he's going to do?"
Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said he will have trouble getting a conviction without the video because the boy now denies the shooting at the home near Martinsville.
"Without that all we really have him on is false informing," Sonnega said. "First he said he shot (Frye), now he says he didn't."
Sonnega said the boy's consent was implied, which is allowed under the Supreme Court ruling cited by Boren.
"Whether you receive consent in sequence or not, the parents and grandparents were in there," Sonnega said. "The young man waived his rights. The parents joined in and they did not think it was inappropriate for him to give consent."
Judge Christopher Burnham said he would rule within a week. The boy's juvenile trial on charges of murder and reckless homicide is scheduled for Sept. 6.
Rhode Island
Lawyer seeks to delay start of prison term
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A Rhode Island attorney convicted for his role in facilitating bribes for three former North Providence town councilmen is seeking to postpone the start of his prison term.
Robert Ciresi is asking in a motion filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Providence to delay for 30 days the beginning of his sentence of five years and three months.
He's seeking the postponement while a federal appeals court in Boston weighs whether to grant him bail while he appeals his conviction on conspiracy, bribery and extortion charges.
The 78-year-old Ciresi is due to surrender on Aug. 31. The U.S. attorney's office in Rhode Island opposes putting off the start of his prison term.
Defense attorney John Cicilline (sihs-ih-LEE'-nee) has said the evidence does not support the jury's verdict.
Published: Thu, Aug 25, 2011
