Westfield Assistant Clerk-Magistrate Nathan Byrnes didn't find enough probable cause to issue criminal complaints against alleged hit-and-run driver Meredith Nilan, the 24-year-old daughter of Berkshire Superior Court Probation Chief Cliff Nilan.
Meredith NilanSPRINGFIELD – A Springfield judge is reviewing the case of alleged hit-and-run driver Meredith Nilan, the daughter of Berkshire Superior Court Probation Chief Clifford J. Nilan, after a magistrate's hearing last month failed to return criminal charges against the Pittsfield woman.
The Pittsfield Police Department had appealed the ruling by Westfield District Court Assistant Clerk-Magistrate Nathan A. Byrnes, who didn't find probable cause to criminally charge Meredith Nilan, 24, in connection with a Dec. 8, 2011, hit-and-run collision that seriously injured jogger Peter Moore, 45, of Pittsfield.
After Byrnes declined to issue criminal complaints against the woman, the Pittsfield Police Department requested a judge to hold a so-called redetermination hearing in the case, which is now in the hands of Springfield District Court Judge William P. Hadley.
Clifford Nilan"We're waiting for the outcome of the redetermination hearing," said Moore's attorney, Michael R. Hinkley.
"Peter's focusing on his family right now and looking forward to full and fair adjudication," the lawyer said.
Byrnes did not respond to an email message from The Republican seeking clarification about the show-cause hearing process, which allows a clerk to decide who attends a hearing and who does not. Byrnes allowed Meredith Nilan, her father and her lawyer to attend a Jan. 12 show-cause hearing in Pittsfield, but he closed the session to Moore and Hinkley.
Byrnes was asked to conduct the hearing to avoid any conflicts of interest because Clifford Nilan, a longtime Massachusetts Trial Court employee, has worked with clerks at the Pittsfield courthouse for many years.
Moore, a Pittsfield health care administrator originally from Connecticut, suffered a concussion, broken neck and other serious injuries in the incident, but he didn't seek medical attention immediately afterward, according to Pittsfield police.
Moore went into shock and was unaware he had been hit by a car, according to his family. He told family members that he thought he had fallen while attempting to evade a vehicle that drove straight toward him. It wasn't until a few hours later that Moore realized the extent of his injuries and sought treatment at Berkshire Medical Center.
Meredith Nilan, who lives in the same Pittsfield neighborhood as Moore, hasn't denied striking Moore while driving her father's Subaru Forrester, but she has denied fleeing the scene. Nilan told her father and attorney that she thought she had hit a deer or dog and stopped to check the area, but she didn't see anything. Nilan said she later returned to the scene with her father to look for any signs of the collision, but they found none.
Pittsfield police, meanwhile, said the reason Nilan didn't find Moore's blood on the pavement was because she didn't return to the actual crash scene, but rather took her father to a different stretch of nearby roadway. Police said Nilan crossed into the oncoming traffic lane, striking Moore as he jogged with his dog by his side.
Nilan's attorney, Timothy J. Shugrue, has said his client acted appropriately. The lawyer has expressed regret that someone was injured, but Nilan has yet to apologize to Moore.
When Pittsfield police initially asked to look at Clifford Nilan's damaged Subaru, the probation chief told them to get a warrant. Police obtained a warrant, examined the vehicle, then filed an application for a criminal complaint against Meredith Nilan in the Pittsfield courthouse where her father works.
A Pittsfield Police Department photo, obtained by PlanetValenti.com, shows damage to Berkshire probation chief Clifford Nilan's car. Police say Nilan's daughter, Meredith, was driving the vehicle in December when she struck and injured a jogger, then fled the scene.Moore is the son of Thomas Moore, a retired Hartford police captain. The father has criticized Byrnes' ruling and says he's seeking justice for his son.
The Moores have spoken extensively with Dan Valenti, a Pittsfield native and former newspaper editor who runs a controversial online blog, PlanetValenti, which chronicles the good, bad and ugly sides of the Berkshires.
Known for doggedly pursuing stories involving allegations of corruption and nepotism in Pittsfield, Valenti clamped on to the Nilan-Moore story and hasn't let go, providing regular updates and beating mainstream media outlets by obtaining official photos of Clifford Nilan's damaged vehicle.
The case has caused an uproar in Pittsfield, a city well accustomed to scandal. The Berkshire Eagle, the county's daily newspaper, often tries to remain above the fray when it comes to hot-button stories that stoke people's emotions. But the Nilan-Mooore issue became unavoidable, prompting Bert Everhart, The Eagle's longtime op-ed editor, to declare that a "judicial failure" had occurred due to the lack of transparency surrounding the Jan. 12 show-cause hearing.
An email message sent by The Republican to Trial Court officials went unanswered.
The Eagle reports that the judge is expected next week to decide if the case should advance to the criminal stage. If that happens, Meredith Nilan would be arraigned on criminal charges of negligent operation and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.