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Mass and Cass Legal: Section 35s and Beyond
October 27, 2021 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Mass and Cass Legal: Section 35, Warrants and Beyond
October 27th 2021, 1-2pm. Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrdOChrzsqGNRgP4jzDhQLoS6odpdT7rg0
The program has been approved for 1 CLE for Adult Criminal, Criminal Appeals, YAD and YAD Appeals and Mental Health
Please join us for a Brown Bag refresher and discussion by the Criminal Defense Training Unit about Section 35s and representing people who are being arrested in the City’s assault on the community of unhoused people in the area of Mass and Cass. We will have a presentation and discussion on strategies to zealously represent our clients, protecting both their rights and their lives, in the face of Section 35 petitions and warrant arrests. Sample motions, appealing Section 35 commitments, objections and defenses unique to this circumstance and working with medically compromised clients will also be covered.
Background: Nov 1st the Trial Court will open a “court” inside the Suffolk County House of Corrections, which will operate Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesdays. This will be used to book and process people arrested as part of the ongoing sweeps of the Mass and Cass area. We expect a substantial number of arrests over the coming weeks, and for those arrests to be used as a pretext to get people off the street and into state custody for Section 35s to be filed. Section 35s may not be medically advisable or in the best interests of our clients. See this article quoting local doctors highlight the risks associated with the city’s plan for more background: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/10/21/experts-concerned-kim-janey-mass-cass-executive-order-encampments/ Bar advocates and CPCS staff will be covering duty days within this jail/court.
The choice of South Bay HOC as the location where court will be conducted and people will be held for booking is very troubling, particularly given the four people who died there between June and September, including one woman detained for a section 35.
More details are coming out every day about this plan by the city/police/courts, so our responses to protect our clients and stand against this injustice are also evolving. We will continue to monitor the developments, share information and provide support as this unfolds. Thanks for being in this fight together!
