Commonwealth v. A Juvenile, SJC-12351: The Supreme Judicial Court issued an amicus solicitation in this case addressing the following issue:
Whether the prosecution of the juvenile for rape of a child violates the juvenile’s rights under the due process or equal protection clause or otherwise contravenes Massachusetts law and policy, where both the juvenile and the alleged victim were under sixteen years of age; whether G.L. c. 265 §§ 22A and 23, are unconstitutional as applied to the juvenile.
The amicus brief would argue that prosecuting a minor for engaging in consensual sexual activity with another minor violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and/or violates due process.
Commonwealth v. A Juvenile, SJC-12354: The Supreme Judicial Court issued an amicus solicitation in this case on the following issue:
Whether a Juvenile Court judge has the authority to dismiss a complaint before arraignment based on the best interests of the juvenile (even in the presence of probable cause).
The amicus brief would argue the following: 1) that the authority of Juvenile Court judges to dismiss complaints prior to arraignment should extend to any legally valid grounds for dismissal and 2) that Juvenile Court judges should also have the authority to dismiss complaints based on the best interests of the juvenile, pursuant to G.L c. 119, sec. 53.