|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Disturbing the Peace (Incl. Breaching Public Order) |
Sentence: |
25 days |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.06 |
Year Crime: |
2013 |
Year Convicted: |
2014 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Connecticut |
County or Region of Crime: |
Tolland |
City of Crime: |
Vernon |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Nina C. Baccala was wrongly convicted in 2014 of misdemeanor breach of the peace in 2013 in Vernon, Connecticut. Nina Baccala was arrested after she became angry and called the female assistant manager of a Stop & Shop a variety of expletives after he told her that it was too late to process a Western Union money transfer. Baccala went to the store and became enraged and verbally abusive after she had called the store and was told by the assistant manager on the telephone that the customer service desk was closed for the evening and money transfer requests could not be processed. During Baccala's tirade in the store the things she said to the assistant manager included she was a ‘‘fat ugly bitch,a ‘‘cunt,’’ and ‘‘fuck you, you’re not a manager,’’ all while making gestures with a cane she was carrying. The assistant manager remained calm and wished Baccala a good night as she was leaving. Baccala was an attorney in Vernon. After her conviction by a jury, Baccala was sentenced to serve 25 days in jail. The Connecticut Court of Appeals affirmed Baccala's conviction, and the State Supreme Court agreed to consider her argument that her tirade was protected speech and were not "fighting words" inciting a person to fight that are not protected under the state and federal constitutions. On July 7, 2017 the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously (7-0) set-aside her conviction on the basis she was exercising protected free speech when she cursed at the store manager, and the court ordered her acquittal. (A majority four justices voted for her acquittal and three voted for a retrial.) Baccala was not shown as a member of the Connecticut Bar Association after a July 7, 2017 search of current CBA members was conducted on the CBA's website. Baccala was licensed as a lawyer in Massachusetts when it was reported by the Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly that in April 2009 she was attacked with a knife by a man in Providence, Rhode Island who responded to her ad for an escort. In 2003 Baccala incorporated a "dating service" business in Rhode Island called BCN Enterprises, LLC, that was listed by the RI Secretary of State's Office as providing "assorted gifts, merchandise, personal services."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On July 7, 2017 the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously (7-0) set-aside her conviction on the basis she was exercising protected free speech, and the court ordered her acquittal." |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
41 |
Age When Released: |
41 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
|
Information Source 1: |
"State v. Baccala, No. SC19717 (CT Supreme Ct., 7-7-2017) (Reversing Baccala's conviction based on her words were protected free speech, and ordering her acquittal.)" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR326/326CR86.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Connecticut woman says insults at grocery store weren’t ‘fighting words’, By Dave Collins (Associated Press), New Hampshire Register, November 6, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20161106/connecticut-woman-says-insults-at-grocery-store-werent-fighting-words |
Information Source 3: |
"Lawyer (Turned Escort) of the Day: Nina Baccala, By Kashmir Hill, abovethelaw.com, May 8, 2009" |
Information Location 3: |
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/05/lawyer-turned-escort-of-the-day-nina-baccala/?rf=1 |
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org