The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that mandatory G.P.S. monitoring for all persons convicted of sex offenses on probation is unconstitutional. Eric Tennen authored a brief in support of the defendant; the Court unanimously agreed with his position. You can read the brief here. You can read the decision here.
Eric Tennen argued that his client should be released from his indefinite, civil commitment. You can view the argument here. A decision is expected in about four months.
From the Berkshire Eagle:
"Bernard Baran Jr. spent 21 years in state prison on child molestation charges that were eventually overturned. Four years after his death, the Pittsfield Human Rights Commission will revisit the case that many have since deemed unjust. "Homophobia, that's what initially fueled what happened," said John Swomley, who led Baran's legal team during the appeal. "We're still grappling with that as a society, but nothing like what they did to him back then." On Wednesday, Swomley, along with Robert Chatelle, who founded the National Center of Reason and Justice, and journalist and playwright James D'Entremont, will speak at the Berkshire Athenaeum about Baran's prosecution and imprisonment..." You can read the entire article here. John Swomley spoke on behalf of MassCann at a heated Boston City Counsel hearing. You can read about it here.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of our firm's clients in a lawsuit against the Sex Offender Registry Board. The ruling addressed several problems with the reclassification process.
The Court held that the Board had the burden of proving an offender must remain at his original level when he himself seeks to lower his classification level. The Court also held that decisions on reclassification and termination must be made within a "reasonable" amount of time. A copy of the decision can be found here. |
MediaRead about the work our attorneys are doing. Archives
October 2020
Categories |