COMMONWEALTH VS PHELAN

NOTE: The following has been sanitized as much as possible, though I will tell you this was one of the toughest reports I've had to post on this site. Due to the age of the alleged victim and the nature of the charges, the report is not as complete as a trial report would be, however, I'd like to think that I've gotten the point across. I'd like to think that I've protected all parties involved as much as possible out of respect to the allegations levied against the defendant.

The case of the Commonwealth vs. Thomas Edwin Phelan (CP-15-CR-0004430-2006) commenced today in front of Judge Riley. Phelan is charged with numerous sexual offenses after a series of sexual encounters with an underaged relative at his home in the western part of the county. In direct testimony, the victim testified that Phelan's alleged behavior began when he pressured the victim into stripping naked for him, then escalated to various sexual behaviors before ultimately leading to full blown intercourse. The victim's testimony lasted well into the afternoon, with court adjourning at around 17:00. Part of the issue was Phelan, who acted as his own attorney, began a nearly lengthy cross-examination of his alleged victim, which was still not complete at the end of today's session. Phelan's style of examination leaves a lot to be desired...

For starters, through most of his cross-examination, Phelan kept referring to himself in the third person. Following the afternoon recess, Phelan had promised to refrain from the third-person references to make the victim more comfortable on the stand, however he reverted back to the third-person style of questioning. He also alternated between referring to the victim by her first name and as "Ms. (name redacted)." It's apparent that he hasn't exactly perfected the art of criminal proceedings, but that's another story.

Based on the way testimony has proceeded to this point, the trial could last well into Friday, or possibly Monday, which could cause some issues when Judge Riley's "Rotation II" one-week term begins on Monday. It will also likely wreak havoc on tomorrow's Call of the Criminal List, but Court Administration has been pretty good about being flexible with assigning judges to hear pleas, so we'll see what happens.

Fortunately, there is some positive reports coming from the courthouse, as Drug Court graduated 8 recovering addicts who successfully completed the intense rehabilitation program and were honored in a ceremony in Courtroom #1 tonight. More information on the success stories will be posted later tonight or tomorrow...