Andrew Good

Andrew Good has been actively engaged in the defense of criminal cases in the federal and state courts for more than thirty years. His broad experience includes every kind of criminal case — from the defense of some of the wealthiest people in America and so-called "high profile" cases to representing many indigent clients. These cases include the defense of a 19-year old British au pair charged with the first degree murder of Matthew Eappen, a nine-month old baby, Commonwealth v. Louise Woodward. He served as lead counsel, along with Harvey Silverglate and Barry Scheck. He has been active for many years to reopen the proceedings and to set aside the judgment of conviction and sentence, and for a new trial, in the case of United States vs. Jeffrey R. MacDonald, M.D., of which two books have been written, 'Fatal Vision' by Joseph R. McGinniss, and 'Fatal Justice' by Fred R. Bost and Jerry Potter.

He won an acquittal for Soares in Commonwealth v. Edward Soares, in which three black males were accused of murdering a member of the Harvard football team in Boston's "Combat Zone" and Commonwealth v. Brian K. Matchett, who was convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter in an extortion-murder case. Mr. Good was co-defense counsel in several vehicular homicide cases, including cases which resulted in non-jail outcomes because of police or prosecutorial misconduct. Mr. Good has won multiple jury acquittals in rape cases, and has obtained reversals of guilty verdicts in several others, including Commonwealth v. Daniel Fitzgerald. He was co-counsel with his partner in vacating the arson conviction in Commonwealth v. Pasquale Cardenuto, and helped obtain his acquittal from the appellate court. Mr. Good obtained the dismissal charges of assault and battery on a police officer against Pedro Casablanca, and subsequently won an $80,000 verdict and a large attorney fee award against the arresting officers and the Town of Whitman, Massachusetts for police brutality (Pedro Casablanca v. Town of Whitman, et al).

Mr. Good's experience in the white collar crime area includes the jury acquittal of a labor union official charged with misappropriation of union funds. He has also worked extensively in bank fraud cases, health care fraud, regulatory fraud in the medical device industry, and export control fraud in the defense industry, among others. He was co-counsel with his partner in resisting extradition of Lui Kin-hong to Hong Kong on commercial bribery charges because Mr. Lui's trial would occur under the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China. While the U. S. District Court issued a writ of habeas corpus, the government won this case on appeal and Mr. Lui was ultimately sent back to Hong Kong.

Mr. Good's experience in computer-related cases includes work as co-defense counsel (with his partner) in United States v. David LaMacchia (wire fraud indictment alleging facilitation of illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted programs via the Internet: dismissed) and co-counsel for the plaintiffs in Steve Jackson Games et al. v. United States Secret Service et al. (successful action for damages arising from illegal seizure of computers, including electronic mail stored on bulletin board systems). Mr. Good's firm, Silverglate & Good, served as counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation during the early years of the Foundation's life.

A founding member of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Mr. Good currently serves as its president. He is a member of the American Bar Association Task Force on Technology and Law Enforcement, and is also an active member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and has chaired its Task Force on Department of Justice Ethics. He has served as counsel to the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and is one of its directors. He has frequently taught in continuing legal education programs of interest to the criminal defense bar on a wide range of topics.

Mr. Good began his legal career as a law clerk in the Supreme Court of New Hampshire in 1972 after graduating from Boston University School of Law in that year.

B.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison 1968
J.D. from Boston University School of Law 1972

Years of Admission:
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (1972)
United States Courts of Appeals for First Circuit (1973)
United States District Court for the District of Mass. (1973)

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