Middleton Criminal Attorney James O’Shea believes his 24 years of experience representing thousands of clients in court proceedings makes him the most qualified candidate for Essex County district attorney.
O’Shea is running against Paul Tucker, a state representative and the former Salem police chief, to replace Jonathan Blodgett, who decided against running for re-election after serving for five terms, and 20 years.
If elected, O’Shea proposes the DA’s office update its intellectual technology, loosen its grip on assistant district attorneys to improve efficiency, and expand drug diversion programs to people older than 21. He would also tackle disproportionate incarceration levels based on race. He said he would address what he sees as a direct correlation between disproportionate incarceration rates and the “excessive” number of motions filed under chapter 276, section 58A, to hold people without bail based on the nature of their charge, rather than the facts and circumstances of the case.
“Anybody that comes in to run for any office, but particularly this office, has to have new ideas to try to move the office forward and if you don’t you shouldn’t be running,” O’Shea said in a Monday interview with The Item’s Editorial Board. “This is not a status-quo job. This is not driving a ship. This is not just taking the helm and letting things continue on.”
Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker was met with opposition from Democratic lawmakers when he pushed to update the state’s pre-detention bail laws to keep more “dangerous” criminals behind bars before trial. Blodgett, however, testified in support of Baker’s changes. Tucker said he also backs the changes to bail laws and would continue to push for them if elected.
O’Shea, in arguing against the bill, cited a recent Harvard University Study that found the number of 58A requests for pretrial detention petitions is increasing in the state, with the Essex County district attorney’s office making double the amount of requests than other counties.
“Every person is different and every case is different,” O’Shea said. “We have to go on an individual basis. This is not a situation where we can paint by numbers. Every defendant deserves to have their constitutional rights preserved by having their case evaluated based on the nature and circumstances and the evidence before the court.”
O’Shea called Tucker “a status-quo candidate” and said he is essentially running “as Jon Blodgett.” O’Shea was also highly critical of his opponent’s background. He said while Tucker’s ads say he has been an attorney for 22 years, he has not used his license to practice law for more than three months. O’Shea said this is an issue because the district attorney should lead by example.
“I represent kids in the throws of dealing with the disease of addiction who have been tortured and victimized worse than you could possibly imagine,” O’Shea said. “I have not just the experience of being a litigator and knowing the law, I have the experience of being a compassionate human being and a counselor of the law.”
O’Shea added that although he has a great deal of respect for the people currently working in the district attorney’s office, he wants to “change the culture at the top.” He said if he is elected, he will not have an interest in serving as district attorney for multiple decades because he values a fresh perspective.
“I’m looking at two, maybe three, terms. I have a very straightforward simple plan on things I want to change that I’ve been watching for 20 years and if I can’t change that tune in that amount of time, then I should move on,” O’Shea said. “I never want to get into a situation where I’m more worried about reelection than serving justice.”
Essex County voters will effectively determine the outcome of the district attorney race in the primary election on Tuesday, as both O’Shea and Tucker are running as Democrats.
Rachel Barber can be reached at [email protected].
Q&A:
What is your vision for the DA’s Office under your leadership?
- “I have a four-point plan and platform that I would put forth immediately as DA to address some of the things that are not working in Essex. There are considerable inequities in Essex County with respect to people of color and people in the Latina and Latino communities being incarcerated at a disproportionate rate to the rest of the population. I believe there is a direct correlation between this and the excessive number of motions being filed to hold people without bail under chapter 276, section 58A, requesting dangerousness hearings for all of these people based on the nature of the charge rather than the facts and circumstances of the case. I would reduce the number of those filings because it’s not making us any safer… The second thing I would change is the current office has a bad track record as it relates to immigration. I’ve made a very good living revisiting those cases and relitigating those cases… The third thing that I would change is… the office’s technology is woefully out of date… We need to bring them up to the new millennium right away. The fourth thing that I will change is that, right now, the main office in Salem has a death grip on its assistant district attorneys in the sense that they are not allowed to do nearly what they should be doing. They are required to call the main office on way too many decisions. We need to give them more latitude.”
What is the DA’s role in criminal justice reform?
- “What we’ve seen here in Lynn is very effective with the guys out on the bikes. I think you’re much less likely to have any kind of excessive force cases or tragedies where you have police on a first-name basis with the people in the community so that when they get a call for an alleged crime they can go there and they’re not looking at each other for the first time and the police, on their side, are not as concerned as they might be over someone that they had a cup of coffee with at the local convenience store the morning before. I think there are great things that come with a familiarity with the people you are policing outside of the actual call, the actual investigation of the crime. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly the DA’s job. That’s a local law enforcement issue. I would encourage it the best I could, but I can’t control what the police departments do as DA. That’s outside of my purview.”
How can the DA’s office discourage repeat offenders?
- “There are lots of proactive programs. You want to try to get the kids young. You want to try to work on diversion and provide services for mental health issues and the disease of addiction and treatment. I look at the office consistent with the way the law approaches our criminal justice system. There’s one prong for punishment of evil-intended actions by people and there’s another prong that is strongly versed in rehabilitation.”
What makes you the most qualified candidate?
- “Paul Tucker is running as Jon Blodgett… He is a status-quo candidate that doesn’t want to change a thing… I represent kids in the throws of dealing with the disease of addiction who have been tortured and victimized worse than you could possibly imagine. So, I have not just the experience of being a litigator and knowing the law, I have the experience of being a compassionate human being and a counselor of the law… There are lots of qualities that go along with my job that go beyond anything to do with being a seasoned litigator.”
