Pointing Cell Phone at Witness Is Intimidation, Appeals Court Says
The Appeals Court of Massachusetts has affirmed an intimidation conviction for a defendant who pointed a cell phone at a police officer waiting to testify.
David Casiano was awaiting trial on drug-related offenses when he pointed his cell phone at an undercover officer and appeared to be taking photos, the court said (opinion posted by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly). A judge confiscated the phone, but could not tell if any photos had been taken or if they had been transmitted to Casiano’shome.
“It is irrelevant whether any photographs were taken, as the police officer was made to believe that the defendant was taking pictures of him and could disseminate his likeness, an act intended to intimidate,” the court said.
The defense attorney on the lower court case, David Weingarten of Boston, told the National Law Journal he is disappointed in the ruling. “In my mind this was a closer case than the appeals court made it out to be,” he said.
Fears of witness intimidation are spurring courts to ban the devices, the ABA Journal reported in “Flying Under the Radar.”
