M A S S A C H U S E T T S
LAW YERS JOURNAL Volume 24 | Number 6 | July/August 2017
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AN APPETITE FOR CHANGE The MBA delves deeper into criminal justice reform
BY JESSICA VIGLIOTTA
Criminal justice reform has been a topic of debate for a long time. But there are indications that comprehensive change may come sooner rather than later in Massachusetts. The commonwealth’s top elected officials — Governor Charlie Baker, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg — have signaled their support for criminal justice reform, And the Joint Committee on the Judiciary convened hearings in June that specifically addressed several aspects of criminal justice reform. A few weeks before the June hearings, the Massachusetts Bar Associa-
tion continued to delve deeply into all aspects of criminal justice reform at its House of Delegates meeting on May 18, when HOD members passed five resolutions that established standards and suggestions for various areas of it. The adopted resolutions were published in a report by the Criminal Justice Reform Working Group, a collaboration between the Civil Rights and Social Justice Section Council and the Criminal Justice Section Council. (The report is available online at www.massbar.org/MBA2017CJresolutions.) The MBA resolutions seek to “address problems within the criminal justice system that result in denial of equal justice under the law,” as quoted from the report’s mission statement.
CATALANO GOES THE EXTRA MILE IN MBA LEADERSHIP YEAR
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The MBA resolutions cover five major reform areas: fees, fines and bail; conviction integrity programs; forensic lab reforms; enhanced law enforcement data collection; and police use of bodyworn cameras. The working group was assembled last year as a result of MBA President Jeffrey Catalano “stacking both section councils with superstars,” whom executed the creation of this working group. The group was led by co-chairs Pauline Quirion and Beverly Chorbajian, under the direction of Civil Rights & Social Justice Section Chair Richard Cole and Criminal Justice Section Chair Georgia Critsley. Members of the group came from diverse backgrounds, including prosecutors, defense attor-
neys, civil rights attorneys, a Juvenile Court judge, and others. Cole said part of the group’s success can be attributed to “having a great balance of professional prospective” across members. The members of the working group split up into sub-groups that focused on each of the specific resolutions, and research was conducted by the subgroup members. They considered prior resolutions from the American Bar Association and other state bars, Brennan Center for Justice reports, a Council of State Government Justice Center report, and programs already implemented in other states, which were used as models. The sub-groups also conducted interviews with college and university 12 professors, and professionals.
THE MBA INSURANCE AGENCY AT 20
PRESIDENT'S VIEW: LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
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THE 2016-17 LEADERSHIP ACADEMY GRADUATES
SECTION REVIEW • REAL ESTATE LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION
SEE PAGE 2 FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF THIS ISSUE’S CONTENTS.
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