A NUMBER of Massachusetts school districts are failing to adhere to data collection measures required by the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act, with some reporting no school-based arrests when their own records show a significant number of arrests. The discrepancies raise questions about the accuracy of data being gathered under the 2018 law, which reduced […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Grappling with ‘driving while black,’ SJC offers help
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Thursday issued a ruling that will make it easier for defendants to prove they are the victim of illegal racial profiling when pulled over during a traffic stop. The decision, hailed as a major victory for advocates for racial justice, came on the same day the court released an opinion […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Revised medical parole rules draw fire
A SECOND ATTEMPT by the Department of Correction to develop medical parole regulations is running into blowback from lawmakers and advocates who say the Baker administration is continuing to block efforts to release medically incapacitated prisoners. “The Baker/Polito administration seems to approach this program with an attitude of, at best, indifference to its effectiveness, or, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC Chief Justice Ralph Gants dies
ONLY 10 DAYS after being hospitalized with a heart attack, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants spent Monday morning on the phone from his home talking to attorneys and advocates about the state’s eviction moratorium and pending eviction crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, he wrote about the difficulties litigants face when representing themselves in housing court. “He was trying to bring all […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
National mayors group calls for change in policing
ANY REFORM OF police policies and practices in the US will happen municipality by municipality. It’s in the nature of locally-controlled police governance in our country. So when the leading association of big city mayors releases a police reform agenda, it has the potential to be influential. The US Conference of Mayors recently published “Police […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker looks to leverage bail controversy
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM supporters have been pushing to draw attention to the role played by bail in the legal system. Whether this will end up being a case of “be careful what you wish for” remains to be seen, but the issue is getting attention in ways advocates did not intend. The latest volley comes […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Study spotlights racial disparities in state criminal justice system
A NEW REPORT prompted by the huge overrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in Massachusetts prisons zeroes in on disparities at various stages of the court system’s handling of cases that are factors behind the disparate incarceration rates. The report, commissioned by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants and carried out by researchers at Harvard […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State prisons resuming in-person visits, programming
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION has announced it will continue reopening its facilities as a part of its Phase 3 reopening plan. In a message to the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus on Tuesday, the DOC, which oversees the state’s prisons, said “it will be announcing the advancement to Phase 3 in its COVID re-opening plan on a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
9 Boston police accused of embezzling $200,000
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE NINE CURRENT current and former Boston police officers were arrested and charged by federal prosecutors Wednesday for allegedly engaging in a years-long scheme to defraud the department of overtime pay. US Attorney Andrew Lelling announced the indictments on charges of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Appeals court reverses ban on ICE courthouse arrests
A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT has lifted a ban that kept immigration authorities from civilly detaining immigrants in and around Massachusetts courthouses. The First Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday vacated an injunction that barred US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making civil arrests in courthouses. The lawsuit to obtain the injunction, first reported by […]