SJC Adopts BBA Position On Right To Counsel In Juvenile Transfer Hearings
BOSTON, MA – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) today issued a unanimous decision affirming the right to counsel for an adult defendant in a Juvenile Court transfer hearing, held to determine whether charges for alleged offenses that were committed before age 18 merit a trial in adult criminal court.
In an amicus letter to the Court, the Boston Bar Association (BBA) urged the Justices to reach this decision.
Such hearings—also called “72A hearings” for the statute that governs them—are conducted when charges stemming from conduct as a minor are brought only after the defendant has turned 19. A Juvenile Court judge must then decide, upon finding probable cause exists, whether to release the defendant, if that is “consistent with the protection of the public,” or, in the alternative, issue a criminal complaint.
As the BBA argued, and the SJC agreed, under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights a 72A hearing constitutes a critical, stage in the judicial process, thus requiring effective assistance of counsel.
The BBA letter, drafted by Christina Miller of Suffolk University Law School, states:
With such life-altering penalties and consequences at stake, the responsibility of counsel to provide effective assistance takes on heightened importance … For justice to be accomplished, an accused individual must be able to rely on the effective assistance of counsel to evaluate and advocate for their interests.
Today, the SJC concurred in an opinion by Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt, who wrote, “[T]he transfer hearing is the defendant’s sole opportunity to persuade the court that the charges against him should be discharged in their entirety to avoid criminal prosecution,” citing an earlier decision that stated, “a transfer hearing in many cases is ‘the whole ball game.'”
The Committee for Public Counsel Services filed an amicus brief making the same argument, and Ruth O’Meara-Costello represented the defendant. For its part, the Commonwealth conceded that a right to counsel should apply at 72A hearings, though the issue remained for the SJC to decide. The BBA letter also points to our history of supporting science-based, developmentally informed treatment for juveniles at every stage of the justice system, including through reports and prior amicus filings.
“Amicus Curiae” means, literally, “friend of the court.” Since 1975, the BBA has filed amicus briefs on matters related to the practice of law or the administration of justice. The 2025-2026 BBA Amicus Committee is co-chaired by Ian Roffman of Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP and Emily Schulman of Harvard Law School.
