"SJC decision could change handling of juvenile offenders" by Milton J. Valencia and John R. Ellement | Globe Staff, December 27, 2013
This week’s Supreme Judicial Court decision opening the door to parole for teenagers convicted of murder will force a major examination of the way the state tries, sentences, and attempts to rehabilitate them, according to legal analysts....
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Possible changes could include steering young killers into prison educational and self-improvement programs so they can recognize the seriousness of their crimes and seek to rehabilitate themselves. The state parole board will also have to establish new ways to consider requests by prisoners who were convicted as juveniles but are living in an adult prison system...
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"SJC rules judges can dismiss juvenile charges" by John R. Ellement | Globe Staff, November 27, 2013
Juvenile court judges can throw out criminal charges against teens before their arraignments, ensuring that the alleged crimes are never entered on their records and have no impact on their futures, a divided Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday.
In a 4 to 2 ruling, the state’s highest court concluded that the judges must have the power to act in what they consider to be the “best interests of the child” because Massachusetts law treats juvenile offenders not as criminals, but as children in need of direction.
“Protecting a child from the stigma of being perceived to be a criminal and from the collateral consequences of a delinquency charge is important even where the complaint is supported by the evidence,” Justice Ralph Gants wrote for the majority. “It is even more important where the charge is not supported by probable cause.”
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The case grew out of an incident involving a Boston public high school student who was given the pseudonym Humberto H. by the court. In 2001, Humberto, who reeked of marijuana, was stopped as he walked into school by the school’s dean and a school police officer. The teen was searched. He was wearing shorts under his pants and inside the pocket of those shorts, authorities found five bags of marijuana. He was charged with marjuana distribution.
When he appeared in Juvenile Court, the judge wanted to toss the case before he was arraigned because he considered the charge unwarranted and feared the teen, who had no prior record, would have an entry on his criminal record viewable by authorities in the future.
Emily A. Cardy, an attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, who represented Humberto, praised the majority’s conclusion.
Cardy said the principle endorsed would be a boon to teens. “This is a wonderful and important result for our clients,” she said. The majority of the court found there was not enough evidence to charge Humberto with trying to sell the marijuana, citing the fact that the teen did not have a cellphone, cash, a scale, pager, or empty plastic bags, which are usually found on drug dealers.
But Justice Francis X. Spina wrote, in a section of the dissent that expressed his views alone, wrote that the majority might have created a loophole that teen drug dealers can use to escape criminal prosecution....
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Another loophole!
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