Andover Lawmaker Makes Push To Impeach Salem Superior Court Judge

BOSTON, MA -- Flanked by two mothers from Danvers whose children died of drug overdoses, state Rep. Jim Lyons (R-Andover) held a press briefing Monday to renew his push to impeach Salem Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley. Feeley came under fire for a series of rulings that were seen as being too lenient, including a case in May when he ignored a prosecutor's request to impose a jail sentence for a convicted drug dealer.

"We've had enough of these judges letting criminals back on the street," Lyons said at a press briefing Monday. "Judge Feeley has crossed the line of impartiality. He is favoring those who are not citizens and denying equal justice and protection to the citizens of the United States."

House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) declined to take up legislation Lyons and 40 other Republican lawmakers filed in May. With the current legislative session expiring, Lyons is calling on Gov. Charles Baker to remove Feeley with "bill of address." The rarely-used measure would need approval from the Governor's Council.

"It was heartbreaking to see him let a heroin dealer back on the street after losing my son," said Lucy Kohler, whose son Kyle died from a fentanyl overdose last year.

Feeley refused to impose a one- to three-year prison sentence on Manuel Soto-Vittini, 32, of Peabody, saying he didn't deserve jail time after pleading guilty to a charge of drug possession with intent to distribute. Soto-Vittini was arrested by Salem Police three years ago with half an ounce of heroin hidden in a secret compartment in his car.

"This was basically a money crime," Feeley said as he sentenced Soto-Vittini to two years of probation. Feeley also said he was worried a jail sentence would result in Soto-Vittini being deported.

It's wasn't the first time Feeley has released convicted felons over the objections of prosecutors. In a 2016 dangerousness hearing he released Daniel D. Beauvais, 48, of Salem, on bail, after he was indicted on charges that he repeatedly sexually abused a 12-year-old girl and after a different judge called Beauvais a "serial sexual abuser."

More recently — and more notably — Feeley was one of two judges who reduced bail for 29-year-old John Williams after Massachusetts State Police arrested him on firearms and other charges. Feeley reduced his bail to $5,000 in March. In April, Williams allegedly shot and killed a sheriff's deputy in Maine while out on bail.

But legal groups, including the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, oppose the impeachment. In May, that group issued a statement saying "any suggestion that Judge Feeley is pro-defense is propaganda."

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Patch file photo via Shutterstock.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).