“It would be different if one of the parties taunted someone as a rich college student,” he says. “Or if Mr. Pring-Wilson had talked down on them for being local townies. But it seemed like he got taunted just for being a stumbling drunk in flip-flops. The fight itself had nothing to do with race or class.”
As a result, Ellikan says he believes assessments of Pring-Wilson’s character or background will play only a minor role in the jury’s ultimate decision.
“In the trial they are really locked on one particular question: did he murder this person or not?” Ellikan says. “And the fact that he may be a good student who belongs to good organizations and can speak five languages really has nothing to do with did he commit this particular crime?”
Pring-Wilson’s background is more likely to lighten his sentence if he is convicted, Ellikan says.
Climenko Professor of Law Charles J. Ogletree says he believes the jury will resist the influences of sensationalized coverage.
“I think they will make that judgement [a verdict] based on hard, cold evidence and the reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts,” he says. “To allow ethnicity or class to enter into these deliberations or considerations at all is not only impermissible but undermines the purpose of a criminal trial.”
Ogletree lauds Cambridge Superior Court Justice Regina Quinlan’s dedication to keeping the courtroom in line by conducting the bulk of jury selection and some testimony in closed session.
“I think we’ve already seen that despite the extensive pretrial publicity and the editorializing around the city, the judge has done an excellent job keeping the jury focused on the facts and evidence.”
Cambridge Mayor Michael A. Sullivan says that the case will not exacerbate “town-gown” tension.
“I don’t think the Harvard connection will play a role,” he says. “I think the jurors are going to watch the testimony and apply a lot of the facts as they find them. Mr. Pring-Wilson will be asked to answer for his actions.”
Sullivan says the defense’s fear of a biased jury in Cambridge—they filed a pretrial motion to move the trial last March—was unfounded.
“Mr. Pring-Wilson may get a fairer trial here than he would elsewhere,” he said. “People elsewhere may have a higher bias against Harvard.”
—Staff writer Hana R. Alberts can be reached at alberts@fas.harvard.edu.