ROCKLAND, Maine — A Rockland man who unsuccessfully tried two weeks ago to have his domestic violence case sealed from public view has hired a well-known criminal defense lawyer.
Attorney Thomas Connolly of Portland appeared Monday in Knox County District Court on behalf of 24-year-old Theodore Berry and entered a not guilty plea for his client.
Berry was arrested on the evening of May 10 and charged with domestic violence assault.
Police were called to a domestic disturbance shortly after 9 p.m. that evening, according to Rockland police. The woman reported that Berry pushed her to the ground, causing her to injure her ankle, according to police.
Berry was taken to the Knox County Jail and released on $250 cash bail.
The district attorney’s office has offered a deferred disposition in the case, according to paperwork at the courthouse.
Berry, who came within 35 votes of being elected to the Rockland City Council last November, initially represented himself and had asked the court to seal any documents pertaining to his criminal case and to order the removal of a Bangor Daily News article that reported the arrest from the Internet. Berry also has asked that the Rockland police officer who gave the BDN reporter the information about the arrest be demoted by the city, receive a $2 per hour pay cut and receive a decreased security clearance for a year.
Judge Patricia Worth, however, rejected his request to seal the record and did not act on Berry’s other requests.
Connolly said those other matters are not being pursued in court and that he is representing Berry on the criminal charge. He stressed Monday that Berry is presumed innocent.
One of Connolly’s most famous cases was representing Bowdoinham farmer Dennis Dechaine, who was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence for the 1988 murder of Sarah Cherry. Connolly also ran for governor in 1998.