Judge Charles Bolster
Encyclopedia
Judge Charles Bolster was a judge at the Middlesex
Superior Court
in East Cambridge, Massachusetts
and a long-time resident of Bar Harbor, Maine
who is best known for his involvement in the case of the Boston Strangler
.
The following day, Roy Smith was convicted. Supposedly, a large number of jurors were from Kennedy's original congressional district and some were crying. After the JFK assassination, most judges suspended juries. Saying that the assassination announcement and juries grief caused the guilty verdict, the defense attempted to appeal.
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
Superior Court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
in East Cambridge, Massachusetts
East Cambridge, Massachusetts
East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River on the East, the Somerville border on the North, Broadway and Main Street on the South, and the railroad tracks on the West...
and a long-time resident of Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
who is best known for his involvement in the case of the Boston Strangler
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
.
Judge Bolster was a respected but undistinguished judge who was known to be unapologetically fair toward the defense despite being an arch-conservative in an extremely liberal state.
The Boston Strangler
Judge Bolster oversaw one of the Boston Strangler cases (as it was later concluded that the murders were likely committed by multiple individuals) beginning November 7, 1963. On the morning of November 22, Judge Bolster addressed the jury.Now I have a very sad duty, gentlemen, I don't know whether you have heard. Early this afternoon one or more assassins in Texas, apparently from high up in a building, fired shots at some of our officials. They hit the president, the vice president and the Governor of Texas, and the president, early this afternoon, died. I ask everyone in the room to rise. I thought fast. I am willing to take the responsibility. You have been here almost three weeks. I venture to think that if the president were here … he would do what I am doing. We are going ahead, but we are going ahead in a thoughtful sorrow about what has transpired. I have watched you gentlemen, and I think you are men of sufficient mental integrity not to let this influence you in any way in the decision of this case. This case is on its own evidence and on the arguments that have been ably presented to you, and so we are going forward. And will you please make every effort to be sure that your decision in this case is in no way tainted by the national disaster that has struck us. So you may retire, Mr. Foreman, and gentlemen, and we start at 8:30 in the morning.
The following day, Roy Smith was convicted. Supposedly, a large number of jurors were from Kennedy's original congressional district and some were crying. After the JFK assassination, most judges suspended juries. Saying that the assassination announcement and juries grief caused the guilty verdict, the defense attempted to appeal.
Well, what I believe happened is that Judge Bolster collapsed the entire case by his remarks to -- his prejudicial remarks to the jury after the close of the -- closing argument where Dick Kelley -- the judge inappropriately informed the jury that the president had been shot, that the vice president had been shot, and that the case was going to continue. Defense Attorney Beryl Cohen