Amicus Request(s) Approved at the October 17, 2019 Committee Meeting

  • Doe No. 234076 v. Sex Offender Registry Board SJC-12762
    The Alternative Commitment and Registration Support Unit, sought and received Committee approval on the following issue:  “Whether the video conferencing of an administrative hearing before the Sex Offender Registry Board violates due process where the hearing examiner and board attorney are in a room together and the petitioner and his counsel are in a room at a correctional facility miles away, the petitioner presents witnesses who can only be heard and viewed by the hearing examiner through video, and the video equipment malfunctions.
  • Healey v. Cruz, SJC-12722
    The Youth Advocacy Division sought approval to file an amicus brief in this case.  The case presents important issues concerning public records requests which have the potential to impact many clients.  The brief would not take any position on whether the requested records are Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) but would highlight the necessity of such information to criminal defendants seeking to prove selective enforcement and selective prosecution claims in violation of their rights.
  • Commonwealth v. A.F., A Juvenile, SJ-2019-0362
    The Youth Advocacy Division sought and received approval to file an amicus letter asking the full bench of the Supreme Judicial Court to take the case and if the Single Justice reserves and reports the petition, to file an amicus brief in the full court.  The issue is when a case is transferred from juvenile court to adult court.  If the case is reported to the full bench, the brief would argue that the transfer to adult court cannot go forward while the individual is incompetent.
  • Timothy Deal v. Massachusetts parole Board, SJC-12746
    The Youth Advocacy Division sought and received approval to sign on to an amicus brief filed by the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL).  The case addresses important issues relative to parole for juvenile homicide offenders.
  • Commonwealth v. Steven Velasquez, SJC-12788
    This case is an appeal from a probation revocation.  The question CPCS is interested in is the application of the exclusionary rule in probation surrender hearings.  The brief will urge the Supreme Judicial Court to hold that art. 14 requires evidence to be excluded from probation revocation hearings if it was unlawfully obtained by an officer who knew or had reason to know of the suspect’s probationary status.
  • Commonwealth v. Zaky Shaban, FAR-27090
    This case is an eyewitness identification case as to the question of whether the failure to do a double blind photo array with a victim of a crime is admissible.