MACDL Amicus for Commonwealth v. Lopez
Unlike adult defendants, children in Massachusetts do not receive credit for time spent in detention pretrial. The Commonwealth has justified this practice by emphasizing differences between juveniles and adults. As MACDL writes in its brief:
Children are indeed different, but DYS’s argument perverts that principle in a misguided effort to treat them worse than their adult counterparts. The reality is that pretrial detention and post- adjudication confinement for children constitutes a life-changing and severe deprivation of liberty, notwithstanding any treatment they may also receive.
MACDL’s brief is drafted by Meredith Shih and Audrey Murillo at Harvard’s Criminal Justice Institute. Read by clicking the image below.
To view/download full text of the brief click the image below
