Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Court To E-Mail Au Pair Decision
> BOSTON (AP) -- Officials at Massachusetts' highest court
> said Tuesday they plan to release the decision about the
> Louise Woodward case electronically -- a cyberspace
> first for the Supreme Judicial Court.
>
> But administrators cautioned that their announcement
> does not mean an opinion about the former British au
> pair is imminent.
>
> The court began sending informational e-mails to about
> 50 reporters and editors Tuesday, telling them that they
> will receive a decision by e-mail at 10 a.m. on the day
> the decision is ready.
>
> The media outlets will then be able to post the decision
> on their websites.
>
> There will be no advance notice as to when the opinion
> will be released. A decision on paper will also be
> available.
>
> ``There's been extraordinary media interest in this case
> and this is the first time that we have used the court's
> information technologies to respond to the enormous
> number of inquiries,'' said court spokeswoman Joan
> Kenney.
>
> Ms. Woodward is awaiting a decision about her conviction
> in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen of Newton.
>
> Both prosecutors and the defense have appealed.
>
> A decision by the high court could mean several things:
> she could be free to return to England; she could be
> sent back to prison; or she could be ordered back to
> court for resentencing.
>
> Ms. Woodward, 20, has been in legal limbo since Superior
> Court Judge Hiller Zobel reduced a jury's second-degree
> murder conviction to manslaughter and set her free,
> sentencing her to the 279 days she had served since her
> arrest. She was ordered to remain in Massachusetts while
> both sides appealed.
>
> Prosecutors asked the court to reinstate the jury
> verdict and the mandatory 15-year minimum prison
> sentence it carries. Defense lawyers had asked the high
> court to either overturn the conviction or uphold
> Zobel's ruling so Ms. Woodward could return to England.
--
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