Status Hearing Tuesday for Marzilli

James Marzilli, pictured at right in better times, formerly represented Arlington and Medford as a state representative before being elected to the State Senate. Courtesy photo.

Former state senator James Marzilli is due in Lowell Superior Court on Tuesday, February 22, for a status hearing to see when his trial on charges of accosting four women in Lowell will take place.

Indicted in July 2008, he was originally scheduled to face trial the following April, but there have been a variety of delays. The Arlington Democrat was indicted on charges including annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex, attempt to commit an indecent assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, according to the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone.

The case was on hold until last year because Marzilli’s lawyers had appealed an attempted indecent assault and battery charge, said Cara O’Brien, a spokeswoman for Leone’s Office. Last June, the state’s highest court ruled that prosecutors could pursue the charge.

Marzilli has been out on $1,500 bail.

His lawyer, Terrence Kennedy, who said in 2008 that Marzilli suffers from a bipolar illness, has been asked to comment.

Marzilli resigned after his arrest, but is seeking his pension. The retirement board has postponed action until the criminal case is resolved.

– Information edited from YourArlington.com