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Massachusetts judicial panel seeks hearing over Fall River lawyer’s five-hour detention
The state Commission on Judicial Conduct has filed formal charges against retired Judge Franco GoBourne over his decision to jail attorney Nicholas Athanassiou during a March 2025 court hearing. The commission says the lawyer was held for about five hours without the findings required to impose summary criminal contempt.
The Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct has filed formal charges against retired District Court Judge Franco GoBourne, alleging he improperly jailed attorney Nicholas Athanassiou during a hearing in Fall River on March 25, 2025.
The commission says Athanassiou was looking at a case file to answer a question when GoBourne directed him to stop pacing and face the bench. After a tense exchange, the judge ordered that Athanassiou be taken into custody and found him in contempt of court.
Athanassiou spent about five hours in a holding cell, according to the commission. He later returned to court with a lawyer, and GoBourne agreed to release him.
In its formal charges, the commission alleges there was no factual basis for summarily punishing Athanassiou for criminal contempt. It says the record did not support the finding required under Rule 43(a) of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure that immediate punishment was necessary to maintain order in the courtroom.
The commission has asked the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to appoint a hearing officer to consider the charges. The filing is an allegation of judicial misconduct, not a final finding. GoBourne retired in September 2025.