MACDL joined CPCS in submitting an amicus brief authored by attorney K. Hayne Barnwell in the case of Wallace W. v. Commonwealth. In the court’s August 9, 2019 decision, it held that prosecutors must prove to a judge beyond a reasonable doubt that a juvenile has committed a prior offense before they can prosecute him for a subsequent misdemeanor charge. David […]
Willie J. Davis, a respected and dynamic long-time criminal defense attorney, passed away on June 19, 2019. He was a friend and colleague to many MACDL members and a deeply valued member of our legal community. As William M. White Jr. wrote in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Willie was a “true giant of the law.” As a criminal defense lawyer, “[h]e […]
The First Circuit has upheld the Massachusetts District Court’s denial of absolute immunity to a former Assistant Attorney General who withheld exculpatory evidence of a state lab worker’s drug use. In a § 1983 suit by a defendant who served more than five years before his conviction was dismissed following disclosure that Sonja Farak was addicted to drugs and tampering with samples during her employment as a drug […]
MACDL’s Legislative Committee co-chair, Austin Tzeng, wrote regarding proposed regulations for compassionate release that they are overly restrictive and unnecessarily burdensome. MACDL supports compassionate release and will continue to monitor regulatory developments. Read our letter below.
To view/download full text of the letter click the image below
MACDL has submitted a letter to members of the Massachusetts House and Senate Judiciary Committees, formally opposing H.66, “An Act to Protect the Commonwealth.” That proposed bill would vastly and unnecessarily expand G.L. c. 58A and other laws authorizing pretrial detention. As MACDL’s letter states, the legislation “would further unjustly incarcerate a disproportionate number of our citizens on a pretrial basis, without affording them an opportunity to post bail, […]
MACDL has submitted a letter in response to the SJC’s request for comments on a proposed order intended to speed up post-conviction proceedings in first-degree murder cases. MACDL joined representatives of the defense bar appointed to respond to the order (including Chauncey Wood, who participated as MACDL’s representative) in expressing concerns about the order. Read MACDL’s letter, and the comments of the defense bar representatives, below. […]
MACDL has issued a statement in support of Harvard Law School Professor Ron Sullivan, after Harvard College declined to renew his status as a faculty dean following student protests based upon his choice to defend Harvey Weinstein in a criminal case. No attorney should face adverse consequences for choosing to represent a criminal defendant and Harvard’s decision in this case demonstrates a lack of respect […]
On May 1, 2019, MACDL’s Board voted to elect Attorney John Amabile as the Association’s new Vice President. Mr. Amabile will take on that role in June 2019, supporting Victoria Kelleher, who will take office as MACDL’s President that month. Mr. Amabile will serve a two-year term as Vice President before succeeding Ms. Kelleher as MACDL’s President. Mr. Amabile is a Principal of the law firm Amabile & […]
MACDL President Derege Demissie represented MACDL today in a debate on WGBH regarding U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s indictment of Massachusetts Judge Shelley M. Joseph for allegedly helping a defendant in her courtroom avoid detention by ICE agents. MACDL strongly condemns the actions of the U.S. Attorney in bringing this prosecution to intimidate state court judges. ICE’s actions in the courthouses of Massachusetts deny both US citizens and noncitizens due […]
On February 28, 2019, MACDL submitted a comment in response to the amendment to Mass. R. Crim. P. 12 proposed by the Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure. MACDL joined the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) in expressing support for allowing conditional guilty pleas for the first time in Massachusetts (following the SJC’s decision in