- Approval of minutes of the January 16, 2020 meeting
- Amicus Request(s)
- Commonwealth v. Harding, SJC-12875
- In Re: Adoption of Jermani H., SJC-12880
- Commonwealth v. D.R., DAR-27318
- In Re: J.P., SJC-12872
- Lease Approvals
- Malden Office
- Worcester Office
- Counsel Crisis Report and Update
- Souza-Baranowski Litigation Update
- Monthly Financial Overview Report
- Commitments $10,000 and Over Report
- Chief Counsel Report
- Executive Session
2020 Nominations for Annual Awards
NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED FOR ADDAMS, BLITZMAN, DONOVAN, DUGGAN, LIACOS, MARSHALL, MCPARLAND, MELLEN, SOUTO-GOYETTE AND WINCHESTER AWARDS
Nomination Process
The Committee will present the awards at an Awards Ceremony on May 14, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston.
All nominations should be submitted to Ms. Denise Simonini, Executive Assistant to the Chief Counsel, Committee for Public Counsel Services, 44 Bromfield Street, Boston, MA 02108, by fax to 617-988-8495, or by email to dsimonini@publiccounsel.net.
Nominations must be submitted no later than March 3, 2020. All nominations must include a written explanation of why the nominee should be honored.
For a list of past award recipients, please check our website here. Biographical sketches of those with an award named in their honor are also on our website here.
Awards
The Jane Addams Award for Outstanding Social Service Accomplishments honors a staff social worker or social service advocate who exemplifies a commitment to clients through their advocacy, support, and dedication. The Addams Award recognizes the profound impact of social workers and social service advocates serving as members of a legal team. It is named for Jane Addams, a pioneer in establishing the field of social work and the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize.
The Jay D. Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy is presented to a person who has demonstrated a commitment to juvenile rights, which is the hallmark of Judge Blitzman’s long career as an advocate. The award honors an advocate who has exhibited both extraordinary dedication and excellent performance to assure that children accused of criminal conduct, or otherwise at risk, are treated fairly and with dignity in the courtroom, in the community, and in the custody of the state.
The Carol A. Donovan Award for Exceptional Advocacy is presented to the lawyer, public or private, whose representation of poor people facing the awesome power of the state is most reminiscent of Carol’s fierce commitment to their vigorous and effective representation, and the cause of equal justice for all.
The Edward J. Duggan Award for Outstanding Service award is given to both a Public Defender and Private Counsel attorney and is named for Edward J. Duggan, who served continuously from 1940 to 1997 as a member of the Voluntary Defenders Committee, the Massachusetts Defenders Committee and the Committee for Public Counsel Services. The award is presented each year to the public defender and private attorney who best represent zealous advocacy – the central principle governing the representation of indigents in Massachusetts.
The Paul J. Liacos Mental Health Advocacy Award recognizes a public defender or private attorney whose legal advocacy on behalf of persons involved in mental health civil commitment, guardianship of adults, or criminal mental health proceedings, best exemplifies zealous advocacy in furtherance of all clients’ legal interests and autonomy.
The Thurgood Marshall Award honors a person or persons who champion the cause of zealous representation for the poor and the right to effective assistance of counsel for all.
The Teresa McParland Award for Operational Excellence is presented to a person who demonstrates dedication, creativity and passion to improving agency operations in service to our clients through enhancing agency performance and accountability. These attributes were all hallmarks of Terry McParland during her CPCS career. The award honors Operations staff who exhibit extraordinary dedication, excellent performance, vision, and creativity in improving the services, systems, quality of life, efficiency, and environment provided to agency staff, clients, and private counsel.
The Maura Mellen Administrative Professional Award honors an administrative staff member who has made an outstanding contribution to the delivery of zealous and effective advocacy for CPCS clients. The award recognizes that administrative staff members perform many critical roles in the provision of zealous representation to CPCS clients.
The Maria Souto–Armand Goyette Investigator Award honors a staff investigator for outstanding investigative work. Maria Souto was an indefatigable CPCS investigator in the Boston office. Armand Goyette, the first investigator at the Massachusetts Defenders Committee, was recognized as a consummate criminal defense investigator who provided outstanding service for over 25 years.
The Margaret Winchester Award for Child Welfare Advocacy honors a staff member or a private attorney who, through their zealous advocacy and extraordinary commitment to children and parents in care and protection and other Massachusetts child welfare cases, is a model for other advocates seeking to protect the rights of children and parents.
SJC: Ask if Passenger Can Drive Before Impoundment
Police must ask an arrested driver whether they want a passenger to drive their vehicle to a safe location before authorities can decide whether it’s “reasonably necessary” to impound and conduct an inventory search, according to the Supreme Judicial Court.
“We conclude that, where officers are aware that a passenger lawfully could assume custody of a vehicle, it is improper to impound the vehicle without first offering this option to the driver,” Justice Barbara A. Lenk wrote in a decision issued Monday. “Absent such an inquiry, the police cannot conclude that impoundment is ‘reasonably necessary.’”
Committee for Public Counsel Services appellate attorney Patrick Levin argued that the requirement for police to honor a practical alternative to impounding a vehicle “would be rendered meaningless if police were permitted simply to impound the vehicle without inquiring into an obvious, readily available alternative.”
Levin added that the police should have the burden to “make a reasonable inquiry” to the arrested individual’s wishes when there are alternatives to impoundment “readily apparent at the scene.”
Lawyers for the ACLU of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys wrote an amicus brief siding with CPCS.
Randy Gioia Outlines Concerns about Videoconferencing
Randy Gioia
Defense attorneys across the Commonwealth have voiced concerns about the prospect of expanding the use of videoconferencing in criminal proceedings.
District Court Chief Justice Paul C. Dawley has been accepting comments on a draft standing order outlining the use of videoconferencing.
Randy Gioia, deputy chief counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, explained his reservations about expanding the practice to Mass Lawyers Weekly for a recent article on the ongoing controversy:
Gioia said he appreciated Dawley’s willingness to listen to the bar’s concerns but fears the expansion of videoconferencing will be a “step backward” after great progress on criminal justice issues.
Gioia said he does not understand why judges look so favorably on a process that “detracts from the dignity of the court and dehumanizes the person on the other end of the screen.” …
Gioia noted that it is fairly common for a defendant in the courtroom to whisper to his attorney: “What the prosecutor said isn’t right. Here’s what really happened.”
But that conversation cannot happen with videoconferencing, at least not without a significant interruption of the proceedings, he said.
Theoretically, a judge could tell a defendant, “If at any time you need to say something to your lawyer, just let me know and I’ll stop the proceedings,” Gioia said. But he said he has never seen or heard of that happening.
YAF Wins 2020 Excellence in Legal Services Award
The Youth Advocacy Foundation (YAF), the nonprofit arm of the Massachusetts juvenile public defender agency, has been named the 2020 winner of the Reginald Heber Smith Award for Excellence in Legal Services.
The award, presented by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, goes to an organization that has exhibited innovation and excellence in legal advocacy. YAF will receive the award at the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly 2020 Leaders in the Law event on March 5.
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized by Mass Lawyers Weekly for the work that we do to ensure that Massachusetts’ most vulnerable kids have access to representation when they are being excluded from school and/or not receiving the special education services they need in order to succeed,” said Marlies Spanjaard, executive director of the Youth Advocacy Foundation. “We hope that this award will provide us the opportunity to raise awareness to the educational inequities that exist in our schools and the huge societal benefit of shutting down the school to prison pipeline.”
Through zealous legal representation and community-based services, YAF fights to decrease the risk of chronic court involvement and to increase the chances that young people will grow into healthy, thriving adults.
YAF’s innovative EdLaw Project has been in existence since 2001 and has provided direct representation to nearly 2,000 children. Through the EdLaw Project, court-appointed attorneys across the state receive specialized training and support to help them incorporate education advocacy into their practice.
EdLaw attorneys are organized by region and support the 1,000-person statewide juvenile bar, which represents kids involved in child welfare cases and the juvenile justice system. As a result of the EdLaw Project and its attorneys, children across the state have received advocacy that has allowed them to remain in school and receive the services they need.
CPCS Testifies in Favor of Safe Communities Act
Wendy Wayne, director of the Immigration Impact Unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, testified in favor of the Safe Communities Act on Friday.
Wendy Wayne, director of the Immigration Impact Unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, testified in favor of the Safe Communities Act – a bill designed to protect the civil rights of all Massachusetts residents.
Wayne, speaking before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security on Friday, said the bill “prioritizes the needs of the Massachusetts criminal justice system over the civil immigration needs of ICE” by allowing state authorities to notify federal immigration officials about the release of individuals only after they have completed their criminal sentences.
“When defendants are arrested by ICE while their cases are still pending, they rarely return to court to resolve those open criminal cases,” Wayne said. “That leaves defendants unable to assert their rights or to be held accountable, and leaves victims without closure.”
The bill bars law enforcement and court officials from asking people about their immigration status, unless otherwise required by law. It would also prevent police, court officers and jail officials from notifying ICE that someone is about to be released during a pending case.
“While ICE has arrest powers, those powers are only to take people into custody to facilitate their deportations, not to punish people, rehabilitate them or protect the public,” Wayne said. “That is the responsibility of our criminal justice system, and ICE’s arrests of people with open cases interferes with that responsibility.”
The bill would also put an end to 287(g) agreements, which allow state officials to maintain contracts with ICE.
The CPCS Immigration Impact Unit helps defense attorneys fulfill their constitutional duty to advise their clients about immigration consequences of their criminal cases. The unit also provides training throughout Massachusetts on the immigration consequences of criminal conduct, distributes written training materials and updates on significant legal issues, and provide post-conviction litigation support.
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Press Contact:
Bob McGovern
rmcgovern@publiccounsel.net
617-910-5758
Roxbury Defender Receives Community Leadership Award
Roxbury Defender Kristyn Henry received an award from the North Shore Black Women’s Association for being a community leader.
Kristyn Henry, a trial attorney with the Roxbury Defenders Unit, was honored by the North Shore Black Women’s Association for being a community leader who exemplifies Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “ideals, passion and commitment to service.”
Henry received the award during the NSBWA’s 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon on Saturday afternoon in Malden.
“My clients are poor, marginalized, unfairly targeted, and live in areas that are significantly over policed,” Henry said during her acceptance speech. “But my clients are also strong men and women, hard workers, immigrants, influencers, mothers, fathers, and so much more than the statistics and categories where they are regularly placed.”
Since becoming a public defender, Henry has dedicated her practice to representing people of color, immigrants, and young people who otherwise cannot afford counsel.
“As an attorney, I know that there are much higher paying and more prestigious jobs that I could have,” she said. “But I chose to be a public defender and I love what I do. I chose to exclusively represent the indigent population in the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan.”
Outside of court, Henry has been a mentor to young people within her community; including high school students, college students, paralegals, and law students; through various internships, mentorship programs, and work-study programs. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor at Northshore Community College where she teaches various courses in its Paralegal Studies program.
“As a professor I have been blessed to have the opportunity to meet so many young people who are interested in some aspect of the legal field,” she said. “I challenge them to do better than me, do better than the attorneys before me. Because I truly believe that we all have the capacity to change the world: One small step at a time.”
Henry said she is proud of her Guyanese heritage and culture, and understands how being a young woman of color from a family of immigrants puts her in a unique position to connect with many of her clients on a meaningful level.
“Years ago, there is no way that I would be standing here before you today as a young black woman attorney and professor,” she said. “But the progress we have made is not enough. There is still so much racism, prejudice, inequality, and injustice in our communities and I believe that it is our duty, my duty, to continue to put forth my greatest effort to make change, no matter how small.”
Henry is an active member of the Massachusetts Black Lawyer’s Association, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. She holds a Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL where she received a Governor’s scholarship.
Do you want to help children and parents in crisis? Apply for our Springfield training!
For the last few years, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families has intervened in lives of Massachusetts families at an alarming rate. Most of these families cannot afford to hire attorneys. Fortunately, in Massachusetts there is a right to counsel for parents and children in state intervention cases. Unfortunately, there are not enough certified attorneys who have the time and training to zealously represent all these families in need. The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) is inviting members of the private bar to apply for admission to the CAFL Trial Panel. We are looking to increase the number of attorneys handling state intervention cases (typically referred to as “care and protection” or “termination of parental rights” cases) in the Massachusetts Juvenile Court. Because the shortage is most acute in western Massachusetts, we are particularly interested in applicants who are able to accept CAFL appointments in those courts.
Attorneys who are interested in pursuing this opportunity can find more information about the training and the link to submit your application here.
Here is some information that might help attorneys decide whether they are interested in joining this panel of litigators.
- Certification Training – We will be presenting a training in Springfield beginning March 30, 2020. Successful completion of the training will enable attorneys to be certified to accept assignments in state intervention cases. The training will take place on March 30-31, April 6-7, and April 13-14. Because this is New England, we have reserved April 2 as a snow date! One-day mock hearings will be scheduled on April 28, 29 and 30, 2020. If selected, participants must keep all three mock hearing dates open until assigned to a specific date and place for the mock hearing. The mock hearings will be located throughout the state. The training will be open to attorneys of all levels of experience, but trial experience is preferred.
- Assignment – Care and Protection/Termination of Parental Rights cases begin, most often, with a petition being filed ex parte by the Department of Children and Families. The attorney’s responsibilities for the case begin immediately upon assignment, as he or she must prepare for a potential emergency custody hearing to take place within 72 hours of any ex parte order (the “72-hour hearing”). These cases frequently continue to be court involved for 15 months or more. Children Requiring Assistance cases (or status offenses) are usually concluded within 15 months.
- Compensation – Private attorneys are paid at the rate of $55/hour for their work on Care and Protection/Termination of Parental Rights cases.
- Expectations Regarding Performance – Attorneys are required to abide by CAFL’s performance standards and meet other requirements set forth in CPCS’s Assigned Counsel Manual, found at https://www.publiccounsel.net/assigned-counsel-manual/.
- Support – Each new member of CAFL’s private attorney panel is assigned a mentor. The mentor is available to support the attorney for the first couple of years of practice, to introduce the attorney to court personnel and others, to assist in learning local practices, to attend initial court hearings, and to provide other support and assistance.
CPCS is committed to ensuring that the panel of attorneys accepting CAFL assignments is sensitive to the diversity of the client population it serves. We will give preference to attorneys who commit to practicing in western Massachusetts and to attorneys who submit completed applications by Friday, February 14, 2020. We encourage interested attorneys to apply early and not wait until the deadline.
Committee Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2020 Meeting
- Approval of minutes of the December 18, 2019 meeting
- Amicus Requests:
- Commonwealth v. Long, SJC-12868
- Commonwealth v. Rambert, 2018-P-1282
- Commonwealth v. J.S., A Juvenile, 2019-P-1645
- Four Co-Defendant Cases: SJ-2019-0511; SJC-0513; SJ-2019-0512; SJ-2019-0510
- Commonwealth v. Bohigian, SJC-12858 (Reporting Only)
- Monthly Financial Overview Report
- Commitments $10,000 and Over Report
- Chief Counsel Report
Calendar Year 2020 Committee Meeting Dates
All meetings will being at 5:30 p.m. in the CPCS Conference Rooms at 44 Bromfield Street, Boston, MA. The meetings will be held on either a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening as noted.
January 16 (Thursday)
February 19 (Wednesday)February 25 (Tuesday)
March 19 (Thursday)
April 16 (Thursday)
May 20 (Wednesday)
June 17 (Wednesday)
July 15 (Wednesday)
August (NO MEETING)
September 16 (Wednesday)
October 14 (Wednesday)
November 18 (Wednesday)
December 16 (Wednesday)