Constitutional Law
Surviving Dad Seeks No-Contact Order for Defense Counsel in Family Murder
Posted Jul 17, 2009, 03:28 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A father and physician who was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion in Connecticut is seeking a court order barring the suspects and their legal counsel from contacting him.
The motion filed this week on behalf of Dr. William Petit of Cheshire seeks a court order barring such contact "whether direct or indirect, in recognition of the victim's rights to be treated with fairness and the be reasonably protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process as guaranteed" in the Connecticut constitution, reports the Hartford Courant.
It was filed by a state victim's advocacy office.
Lawyers for the two murder suspects declined comment when contacted by the newspaper.
The article says Petit received a letter from a North Carolina attorney who described herself as a victim liaison offering a "line of communication" from one of the defense lawyers, who had asked her to "assist in outreach" to the physician.
The doctor's wife and their two daughters were killed in the 2007 attack in their home.
Comments not appearing after a few seconds? Try emptying your cache ("Temporary Internet files"), making sure Javascript is activated, and refresh this page.