That is, ladies and gentlemen, an extremely high conviction rate. For comparison, here’s a round-up-ette of some Bay State courts’ conviction rates [via the Massachusetts Lawyer weekly]: “An analysis of the statewide Superior Court conviction rate in 2009 reveals that nearly two-thirds of the criminal defendants in Worcester County were acquitted of felony charges at trial. [For the math aversive, that’s just over a 25 percent conviction rate.] That stat is nearly 30 percentage points below the commonwealth’s overall trial conviction rate [make that around 50 percent, then] and 20 points lower than the county with the second worst results, Bristol County.” And you gotta think that the 50 percent-ish statewide stat includes some serious plea bargaining. Anyway, does that mean that the four-year-old Massachusetts Gun Court is kicking ass and taking names, or taking names and kicking ass? The Suffolk Couty DA in charge of such things is, surprise, claiming a major victory. [Note: 19 of 171 Gun Court cases ended in acquittal, yielding the headline stat. Read the DA’s four-year report here.] And, of course, Dan Conley’s linking the Court’s success to a reduction in violent crime. First, a little history from the man’s press release.
