Kennedy magic lives on | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: Jim Bispo's weekly column appears in the Beaufort Observer.

    It would seem that the O.J. magic is gone. Apparently the Kennedy magic (even though only by marriage) is still intact. O.J.'s appeal for a new trial gets rejected. Michael Skakel's latest appeal (there have been numerous others) finally gets some notice.

    Robert Kennedy married Ethel Skakel whose nephew was (is) Michael Skakel. I suppose that technically that makes him a Kennedy cousin, which the mainstream media persist in calling him, but it surely doesn't make him a "Kennedy". In any case, the magic surrounding the Kennedy name would seem to be alive and well in Connecticut where Michael Skakel. who was convicted in 2002 of killing Martha Moxley in 1975 is about to get a new trial.

    For the 2002 trial the Skakels hired a flamboyant Connecticut lawyer, Michael Sherman, and reportedly spent over one million dollars (yes, over one million) on the defense. After spending all that money they have apparently decided some ten or eleven years later that the money was not well spent. It is not difficult to imagine that when someone spends that kind on money on a defense lawyer, they expect a "win" - not a 20 year to life sentence.

    Skakel's new attorney reportedly convinced Judge Thomas Bishop that the strategy employed by Michael Sherman, Skakel's original attorney was faulty, or that he failed to do some things that the judge thought he should have done as a defense attorney. (I suppose any time someone loses a cast, it would be because their presentation was "inadequate" - hmmm...) Apparently on that basis, the Judge decided to let a new Skakel attorney try to get him off in a new trial.

    This could well set an interesting precedent. Every time someone gets convicted in Connecticut, there would seem to exist almost automatic grounds for a retrial. - even though there was no other reason for a retrial (such as improper jury instructions or some such). It would seem that as long as a judge who might have done the defense a little differently can be found, the potential exists.

    We are left to wonder about the possibility of a retrial for those who are not convicted if a judge who disagreed with the conduct of the prosecution could be found. Wait!! That won't work unless the Connecticut Judiciary is able to find their way around "double jeopardy". (Please don't tell me the Anointed One will take care of this issue via a "double jeopardy" Executive Order.)

    What makes the entire situation really eerie is the fact that, according to The Hartford Courant, "The state Supreme Court has upheld his conviction and the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the case.".

    To see the full article, click here.

    According to the article, Mr. Sherman was characterized by the new Skakel lawyer as a "money hungry lawyer"... There are those who would suggest that the characterization would make him an average "run of the mill" lawyer - a distinct part of the majority.

    According to Wikipedia, Mr. Sherman was recently released from prison (tax evasion) and his law license was suspended in 2011. (He is very likely not so flamboyant as he was a few years ago.) It is not clear how much that may have had to do with the Judges decision.

    We can only wonder how much influence the "Kennedy" name had on the judge. Of course it may have been the Skakel name. They would likely seem to be as much a part of the Connecticut elite as are the Kennedys - maybe even more. Perhaps it is true that the rich somehow are able to get as much justice as money can buy.

    D'ya Think??