Many years ago, in the Western Massachusetts town of Lenox, there was
a trial of seven individuals..referred to as the "Lenox
7"...concerning the death(s) resulting from some unruly behaviour
between two groups of teenagers from Lenox and Lee.  I would like all
(or any) details of that trial, including any transcripts and/or media
coverage of that trial

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Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 16 Mar 2004 21:16 PST

Can you tell us approximately what year this might have taken place?

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Clarification of Question by jimz-ga on 17 Mar 2004 07:02 PST

It's hard to pin down exactly, but I thing it would be in the early
1980's. However, I can't be sure.  I remember going to the a Law
Library ard reading over the transcript, but I have forgotten the file
number.  That's about all I can say for sure.

On June 5, 1981, there was a post-graduation brawl between high school
students in Lenox and Lee, Massachusetts.  As a result of the fight,
two Lee students, Barry Griffin, 19, and Richard Retzel, 18, drowned. 
Peter P. Bianco, Joseph F. Burke, Robert Walker, Bruce C. Kern, Mark
E. Hinman, Todd Terpak and Stephen Piretti were arrested as the
responsible parties and nicknamed the "Lenox 7" by the press.

They were initially convicted of involuntary manslaughter and once
count of assault and battery for the deaths.  There were several
post-conviction verdicts in the appellate and Supreme Judicial Courts
during which the involuntary manslaughter convictions were overturned.
  The 7 were sentenced to 18 months in jail, served at the Berkshire
County facility for the a/b charges.  In November and December 1983
and January 1984 the Lenox 7 were paroled.

There was also a civil case brought by the parents of the victims
against the Lenox 7 and two other individuals, reportedly with the 7
during the incident.   The parents sought $11m.

Two Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) docket numbers were
entered for the cases (SJC-03211 and SJC-09252). The SJC docket
information indicates that the transcript was 31 volumes not including
the SJC opinion.  If you are in Massachusetts, I recommend that you
take a trip to the closest state law library.  They have access to
Lexis and Westlaw at no charge and may be able to help you pull the
original criminal trial transcripts from the Superior Court, the
appellate opinions, and the SJC opinion.  Otherwise you will have to
contact the Clerk of the SJC to get a copy of those records.

There was extensive press coverage of the case in the Boston Globe,
which has archives from the early 80's online.   I can't provide you
with their content without violating copyright.  However, articles are
$2.95 each or you can purchase bundles of articles for a lower
per-article rate.  The URL for the Globe archives is:
http://www.boston.com/tools/archives/

Happy reading!

-phiguru-ga