Hearings delayed for alleged brothel customers
Lawyers argue for privacy to SJC
A single justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday postponed legal proceedings against 28 people suspected of buying sex from brothels in Cambridge and Watertown after lawyers argued that the court should reverse its decision to hold public hearings over whether there is enough evidence to support a request by police to bring charges against them.
“None would be described as ‘powerful or elite,’” attorneys for 13 of the 28 “John Does” wrote in a motion to postpone the hearings that had been scheduled to begin Thursday before a clerk-magistrate in Cambridge District Court. They sought additional time to argue that the public’s interest in the case does not outweigh their clients’ privacy rights and that their identities should not be disclosed — either through paperwork filed with the court or public hearings — unless they are criminally charged.
One of the 13 is an attorney “who does not work for the government,” one is a doctor “working at a public hospital,” and one is a scientist “without ties to the government,” according to the motion filed Wednesday.
“They are private citizens who face adverse and embarrassing collateral consequences if their name and image are published before they have the opportunity to face this case at a clerk’s hearing or in a court of law,” their lawyers wrote.
On Wednesday, Justice Frank M. Gaziano postponed the hearings, without setting another date, and gave defense lawyers until 4 p.m. Monday to contest the recent decision to hold public hearings for those facing potential charges.
The Globe reported last week that 28 people accused of buying sex from the brothel ring that allegedly operat
ed in Cambridge, Watertown, and the Washington, D.C. suburbs had been summoned to appear before a magistrate on Thursday, Friday, and Monday to determine whether there is enough evidence for prosecutors to charge them criminally. The 28 people have not been publicly identified.
The hearings were initially slated to be held behind closed doors, but clerk-magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey ruled last month to open them to the public after the Boston Globe, WBUR, and NBC-10 filed appeals.
A 2008 rule issued by the chief justice of the state’s trial court says “presumptively, show cause hearings [in state court] are private and closed to the public,” but people or organizations may petition for public access.
“If the application is one of special public significance and the magistrate concludes that legitimate public interests outweigh the accused’s right of privacy, the hearing may be opened to the public and should be conducted in the formal atmosphere of a courtroom,” the rule states.
The case captured national attention in November when federal authorities charged three people accused of operating the prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clientele and said the client list included elected officials, government contractors with security clearances, and military officers.
Attorney Janice Bassil, who is representing one of the 13 people in the motion filed Wednesday, said in a phone interview that the push to open the hearings is “all about public humiliation and shaming,” and, “I think that’s wrong.”
Asked about the identity of her client, she said, “He’s a John Doe, and he will remain that unless or until he is charged.”
In November, federal authorities charged Han “Hana” Lee, 41, of Cambridge, with leading the interstate prostitution network. She was charged in US District Court in Boston along with James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif., and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, on charges of violating the Mann Act, a federal law that targets interstate prostitution rings.
All three have pleaded not guilty and are being held pending trial.
Last month, the US attorney’s office said the Homeland Security Investigations task force that investigated the case had asked state authorities to pursue criminal charges against the 28 suspected customers. Acting US Attorney Joshua Levy said a Cambridge police officer assigned to the task force filed the applications for criminal complaints against the alleged “sex buyers” in Cambridge District Court.