Remarks of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley: Legislative Hearing on Guns and Gangs September 29, 2004 Let me begin by thanking the committee, and Senator Barrios in particular, for its attention to an issue of particular importance to me. I'm Dan Conley, District Attorney for Suffolk County, which includes Boston, Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere. I represent a county that is decidedly urban, geographically small but highly and densely populated, and by far the most diverse in the state. As District Attorney, I believe that a multi-faceted approach of prevention and early intervention aimed at young people, combined with strict enforcement for those who ignore these messages, is the best, most effective approach to gangs and to most issues of crime. But from my first months as District Attorney I have also spoken publicly and repeatedly about a problem that is part and parcel to that of guns and gangs and violence: and that is victim and witness intimidation. It's an issue that has never received the full attention it deserves and as a result is now one of the most prevalent, and insidious problems in the criminal justice system. Witness intimidation interferes with law enforcement's ability to hold violent offenders accountable, and it undermines our justice system's ability to deliver on its promise of equal justice for all. In order to solve many crimes - but particularly those involving gangs - police and prosecutors must rely upon the cooperation of victims and witnesses to provide sworn testimony to put dangerous offenders behind bars. When any participant in the system - an attorney, a witness, a victim, a judge or a juror - acts in a manner that hides the truth or undermines the pursuit of justice, it strikes at the heart of the integrity of our system and it's ability to achieve justice. Unfortunately, in Suffolk County and in many of the urban areas around our state, we deal with the problem of witness intimidation on an almost daily basis. Prosecutors in my office estimate that issues of intimidation - victims and witnesses refusing to cooperate or changing or recanting earlier sworn testimony - occur in up to 90 percent of all cases involving guns or gangs or serious violence. Intimidation takes different forms. Gang members often pack courtrooms with fellow gang members and associates of defendants charged in violent crimes. In one case several years ago, a woman was called to testify against a gang member charged in a shooting. When she entered the courtroom, she saw the benches filled with friends of the defendant, and turned right around and left the courtroom. She cried to the Victim-Witness Advocate from my office that she might as well just put a bulls-eye on her back. Gang members might also go to lengths to remind people that they know who is talking with police and prosecutors by disseminating confidential Grand Jury minutes. Police officers have found defendants in possession of copies of grand jury testimony and in one case; gang members had posted copies of the transcripts to all of the front doors of a nearby housing project. But in addition to these explicit or implicit acts of intimidation, we are also struggling against a barrage of messages that has become more and more prevalent and that discourages people from cooperating with police and prosecutors. Recently, my office arraigned a defendant by the name of Arthur Bryce for the crime of illegal possession of a firearm. When this individual was arrested, police recovered a video documentary he and a friend were in the process of filming whose title was "Stop Snitchin'." Another defendant named Andre Walker, a gang member currently awaiting trial for murder, previously recorded his own CD with a song whose theme was, again, "stop snitchin'." We have to combat this message that telling the truth, making our neighborhoods safer and getting violent thugs off the street is "snitching." Similarly, the time is long overdue for us to recognize that when fear and intimidation become so common in the criminal justice system and affects sworn testimony - and in Suffolk County, I can tell you that it does so far too often - that the credibility of the criminal justice system's promise of equal justice for all is itself at risk. In Suffolk County we've tried to address this issue by training teams of police, prosecutors, victim-witness advocates and clergy to meet with victims and witnesses in certain cases, lend moral support, try to identify problems and keep them on track to give truthful testimony. Due to severely limited resources and staggeringly high caseloads, however, this promising effort can only be directed to a few cases at any given time. In addition, many of the services these witnesses need we simply aren't able to provide. We need legislative relief that will provide protective services for witnesses, including emergency relocation and housing. I've also proposed and will continue to advocate for legislation that would prohibit the unauthorized possession, use, or distribution of Grand Jury transcripts, and apply a higher sentence if those transcripts are used to intimidate. Additionally, I would urge the Legislature to enact the Federal standard for perjury, which would make two irreconcilably inconsistent declarations prima facie proof of perjury. In addition to these legislative remedies, as District Attorney I would also urge the Legislature to adopt other bills that I intend to file in December of this year aimed at making kids safer and reducing the prevalence of guns and the influence of gangs on our streets. First, adoption of a Bail Conditions Statute, would allow the courts to impose, as a condition of bail, stay away orders from certain areas or individuals or face revocation of bail. This would be enormously helpful in dealing with certain hot spots that emerge and reduce opportunities for retaliation. Finally, one of the phenomenon we've seen emerge in recent years is that of "community firearms" - a gang or association of offenders who share a gun that is used to commit multiple crimes. Presently, the law only allows charging for distribution of firearms if at least 3 weapons were sold. The statute I envision would apply distribution charges to the loaning or passing of even one gun, with heightened penalties for those who loan, pass or sell a gun to a minor. These are just a few of the ideas that I believe would be of greatest assistance in reducing instances of perjury and intimidation which allow gang members and other violent offenders to escape responsibility, that perpetuates the climate of fear and disorder that guns and gangs bring to our neighborhoods, and that undermine the rights we should all enjoy to justice and the full protection of the law. If the committee has any questions, I'm happy to take them. Return to the previous page.