Josh J., a juvenile v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-017-18)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-12286 JOSH J., a juvenile vs. COMMONWEALTH. Suffolk. October 5, 2017. – January 31, 2018. Present: Gants, C.J., Gaziano, Lowy, Budd, Cypher, & Kafker, JJ. Bail. Delinquent Child. Due Process of Law, Pretrial detainees. Moot Question. Civil action commenced in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk on January 11, 2017. The case was reported by Lowy, J. Eliza Lockhart-Jenks, Committee for Public Counsel Services, for the juvenile. Marina Moriarty, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. LOWY, J. This case, here on a reservation and report by a single justice of the county court in response to the juvenile’s petition under G. L. c. 211, § 3, requires us to consider the proper application of G. L. c. 276, § 58, and G. L. c. 276, § 58B, specifically with regard to the number of days an individual may be held without bail after a bail revocation hearing. We conclude that where an individual has been released on bail pursuant to G. L. c. 276, § 58, and there is probable cause to believe the individual committed a crime while released on bail, the Commonwealth may seek to revoke bail under either § 58 or § 58B. The judge must then determine whether the Commonwealth satisfied the requirements of the particular statute, either § 58 or § 58B, under which it sought to revoke bail. Background and prior proceedings. On May 6, 2016, a delinquency complaint issued charging the juvenile with breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony and larceny over $ 250. A judge in the Juvenile Court set the juvenile’s bail at $ 1,000. The judge also advised the juvenile, pursuant to G. L. c. 276, § 58, that the juvenile’s bail could be revoked if he committed a new crime while on release. The juvenile posted bail and was released. In August, 2016, two delinquency complaints issued against the juvenile for several new crimes he allegedly committed while on release on the pending charges, including two counts of assault and battery on a pregnant victim and one count of malicious destruction of property valued over $ 250. In November, 2016, based on the new charges, the Commonwealth sought to revoke the juvenile’s bail pursuant to G. L. c. 276, § 58. A Juvenile Court judge allowed the Commonwealth’s motion, revoked the juvenile’s bail, and set a date for a […]