Juveniles Should Get Credit for Pretrial Detention
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 […]
MACDL Supports the Mass Bail Fund
Bail is not a form of punishment. It is set in almost every case to ensure that those charged with a crime return to court during the lengthy period that it may take for the case to resolve. If bail is set in an amount the person can’t afford, he or she will be held in jail without any conviction. In other words, based solely on probable cause to […]
Follow Up on Letter to Judiciary
July 31, 2020
Dear Chief Justices Gants, Carey, Ronquillo, Fabricant and Dawley,
On behalf of MACDL, we thank you for the opportunity to meet via Zoom on July 22, 2020, along with members from the Committee for Pubic Counsel Services, to discuss the issues raised in our July 14, 2020 letter to you. We are pleased and grateful that you expressed a willingness to listen to our concerns and to work with […]
Letter to the Judiciary Opposing Phase 3 Reopening
We have received numerous calls and emails from members who are understandably distressed by the Phase 3 reopening of the state courts, which includes mandatory, in-person appearances for non-emergency hearings such as summons arraignments. In response, MACDL’s Board addressed a letter to Chief Justice Gants and Chief Justice Carey citing our concerns, along with the following proposals:
- Suspend the plan to require in person appearances for non-emergency matters […]
Dismantling Structural Racism in the Commonwealth’s Criminal Courts
June 15, 2020 — In reply to the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court
MACDL’s Board of Directors and Racial Justice Committee take seriously the Supreme Judicial Court’s declaration that we all must all harness the power and privilege that comes with our professional accomplishments to end racial injustice. There is no neutrality in racism; failing to take aggressive measures allows racist […]
Say Their Names
The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is outraged by the most recent show of force and violence against Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, events that are endemic to Black America and reflect the history of racism and oppression in this country.
But it is not enough to be outraged. We must confront how our criminal justice system has failed people of color.
Our system has perpetuated racism […]