CPCS Statement on Chief Justices’ Letter to ICE

Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants and Trial Court Chief Justice Paula M. Carey wrote a letter to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging the federal agency to stop deporting defendants awaiting trial without notifying attorneys involved in the ongoing cases.

Below is a statement from Anthony Benedetti, chief counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services:

“ICE must stop ripping our clients away from their right to a fair trial, and we agree with Chief Justices Gants and Carey that this is a practice that severely interferes with the state criminal process. We urge ICE to consider the wishes of Massachusetts prosecutors, judges and public defenders and allow our criminal justice system to operate unimpeded.”

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