Good Lord: Judge Rejects Plea As Too Lenient, Jury Then Acquits Defendant

In Laconia, New Hampshire there is an interesting case that may give some of our clients pause before accepting a plea bargain. Jonathan E. Lord, 25, had accepted a plea bargain to spend one year in jail for trying to run over Police officer Michael Finogle. However, Judge James O’Neill III rejected the plea (because he felt the plea was too lenient) so the case went to trial . . . and Lord was acquitted of one felony charge of reckless conduct and two misdemeanor charges of disobeying an officer and reckless operation.

Finogle was on foot patrol in the parking lot when he said Lord drove a car “at a rate of speed and manner as to narrowly miss” him.

The jury appeared to accept the defense’s contention that Lord was not the man in the car. One juror is quoted as saying “the guy (Lord) took his shirt off and he had a million tattoos. There was no mention by the cops that he had all these tattoos, even though it was a well-lit area.”

While most judges go along with agreements between prosecutors and defense counsel, O’Neill has a record of rejecting plea agreements (here).

Source: Lacnida Daily Sun as found on Reddit.