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Notable due process ruling from Massachusetts high court about detaining dangerous juves

By Douglas A. Berman

Thanks to this post at How Appealing, I discovered yesterday's notable due process ruling coming from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.  This article from the Boston Globe provides a useful summary of the ruling: The highest court in Massachusetts struck down a law yesterday that allows the state to keep juvenile offenders who are slated to be released at 18 in custody for three more years if they are believed to be dangerous.... In yesterday's decision, [the court] wrote that the court warned the Legislature in 2004 that it had "grave concerns" about the constitutionality of the statute because of its failure to adequately define dangerousness, and "invited it to correct the deficiencies."  However, the Legislature did not change the law...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 11, 2009 (boomark / email).