Worcester Lawyers to Lecture on Mental Illness and the Law

Criminal defense attorneys Michael Wilcox and Louis Aloise, partners in the Worcester law firm of Aloise & Wilcox PC, will give a lecture, titled "Mental Illness and the Law: Insanity Defense and Other Legal Issues," on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in Hogan, Jenks Suite A. Sponsored by the prelaw program and the psychology department, the talk is open to all members of the Holy Cross community.

Aloise and Wilcox have been involved in a number of high profile Worcester cases. In 2000, they represented Julie Barnes, the homeless woman charged with manslaughter, who (along with her friend Thomas Levesque) accidentally started the Cold Storage warehouse fire that took the lives of six firefighters. In 2002, they took on the defense of Anthony J. Scola, whose estranged wife was found stabbed to death in the couple's home in 2002.

Named Lawyer of the Year in 2002 by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Aloise earned his law degree from Boston College Law School. A partner with Aloise & Wilcox PC since 2002, he worked for 15 years with the firm Shumway, Giguere, Fox, Aloise & Wilcox, and for 9 years in the Worcester Country District Attorney’s Office, where he served first as chief trial counsel and later as first assistant district attorney. In addition to positions at other firms, he has taught at Worcester State College and Anna Maria College.

Michael Wilcox, a former police officer, has been a partner with Aloise & Wilcox PC since 2002, after 15 years with Shumway, Giguere, Fox, Aloise & Wilcox. He and Aloise have previously lectured in abnormal psychology classes at Holy Cross on issues including the insanity defense, competency and cases involving schizophrenia.

Related information:

# Prelaw Program # Psychology Department