On March 27, 2024, the MACDL executive board joined bar leaders from other bar associations at a Bench/Bar meeting. Chief Justices Budd and Brieger along with Court Administrator Tom Ambrosino and Dr. Natoschia Scrugg, the newly appointed Chief of Access, Diversity and Fairness for the trial court, gave updates on various topics involving the operations of the courts. Below are the handouts that we received. Here are a […]
MACDL has formed a Clemency Committee in response to the Governor’s new clemency guidelines, which hold promise for more relief. The Committee screens applicants and refers the most promising candidates to pro bono lawyers.
TO: Committee Members, CPCS Staff, Bar Advocate Program Administrators,
CAFL Resource Attorneys, Juvenile Bar Association, Mental Health Litigation Division Regional Coordinators, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Massachusetts Bar Association, and Boston Bar Association
FROM: Anthony J. Benedetti, Chief Counsel
DATE: February 10, 2023
RE: NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED FOR ADDAMS, BLITZMAN, DAVIS-DUGGAN, DONOVAN, LIACOS, MARSHALL, MCPARLAND, MELLEN, SOUTO-GOYETTE, WINCHESTER AWARDS, CPCS COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP, AND EMERGING DEFENDER AWARDS
Nomination Process
The Committee will present the Awards […]
In 2021, the SJC released a report (see below) summarizing affinity bar town hall meetings, shedding light on the experiences of legal professionals from underrepresented, historically excluded and systemically oppressed populations. As stated in the report, “the burden of change cannot and should not fall on these attorneys and law students themselves, as it has for far too long.” Instead, “the burden of supporting and championing this work should […]
By Victoria Kelleher, Past President, MACDL
Joe Balliro Sr., a giant of the defense bar, passed away peacefully on August 10, 2022. His impact on the defense community is difficult to overstate. He possessed both passion and unshakeable dignity. He remained true to the profession’s highest calling — he had the guts to challenge the abuse of authority, the intellect to choose his words carefully, and the wherewithal to bring […]
The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) is deeply troubled by the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This decision will have a profound impact on both our clients and members, as well as on the integrity of the legal process.
The Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade is not only an intrusion into the bodily autonomy of people who can become pregnant but is […]
As COVID cases began rising as the weather got colder, MACDL president John Amabile sent a letter to the Chief Justices of the SJC, Superior, and District Courts recommending best practices for court administration (see PDF of the letter below). The recommendations were aimed at mitigating the spread of disease and making our practice more efficient. MACDL recommended statewide directives for restoring remote hearings, accepting electronic filings, and staggering […]
In 2015 there was a brawl at a bar in Plymouth resulting in serious injuries to an off-duty corrections officer. Detective Greg Smith of the Plymouth Police led the investigation which resulted in charges of mayhem and assault and battery causing serious bodily injury against Alex Johnson. After an evidentiary hearing on an O’Dell motion to dismiss, Judge Cosgrove found that Greg Smith failed to provide exculpatory evidence that […]
Defense attorneys Blake Rubin and Angela Cavanaugh were acquitted of witness intimidation after being accused of arranging for a key witness in a human trafficking case to be bailed out so that she could run away and not be available to testify at trial. When the man accused of human trafficking was confronted for bailing the witness out, he blamed his lawyer and the witness’s lawyer for orchestrating this. […]
MACDL’s Board recently sent a letter to Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington, strongly objecting to DA Harrington’s choice to write an ex parte letter to the Chief Justice of the District Court system requesting the removal of the Honorable Jennifer Tyne from criminal cases. As the letter states, MACDL is deeply concerned by this indefensible and unethical effort to circumvent fair process and undermine the independent decision-making of […]