Court Clears Whitney Of Assault and Battery

James N. Whitney, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, was cleared today in Middlesex County Superior Court of charges of assault and battery and disturbing the peace. He was alleged to have struck Cambridge Police Captain Joseph Cusack during the Cheyney C. Ryan trial of October 30.

There will be a continuance without finding until September 20, at which time Whitney will be declared not guilty.

The decision, which came as a surprise to Whitney, was made by Judge Robert W. Scola after a 10 a.m. conference with defense lawyer Norman Zalkind. Prosecutor John J. Bowers Jr. and two Cambridge Police officers.

Whitney said he felt the prosecution's "backing away" was the major factor in the decision.

"They would have been embarrassed by a trial. It was a question of whether they wanted to go ahead with it," he said.

Zalkind said he felt that a "humane judge" was the key to the outcome of Whitney's case.

This morning's decision concluded Whitney's attempt to appeal a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence handed down by Judge Lawrence Feloney on December 3 for the same charges.