The juvenile justice system in Massachusetts moved towards reform as the House of Representatives in the Massachusetts General Court passed a bill on Tuesday. The proposed bill provides greater protections for juveniles (ages 7-17) that encounter the criminal justice system.
Among the legislation passed through the House includes laws allowing individuals the ability to expunge their records if an offense was committed prior to turning age twenty-one (21) (with a three-year grace period for misdemeanors and a seven-year grace period for felonies), raising the age of juvenile delinquency from age seven to ten, and the codification of indiscriminate shackling of juveniles, among others. The current state of the law places several limitations on a juvenile’s ability to expunge records, preventing those with minor offenses from seeking employment and potentially pursuing secondary education. Individuals seeking to cover their criminal history from the eyes of future employers typically seal their records, which achieves that goal, but those records still remain in the court system and can negatively effect future encounters with the justice system as an adult. That said, the bill passed by the House that is curated to the expungement of records will go miles in ensuring that any encounters people have had with the juvenile justice system will, in effect, be non-existent.
As of today, kids as young as seven can be rendered delinquent and may face harrowing consequences into their teenage and adult years for petty crimes or violations. In addition, most juveniles that are in custody at the time they appear before juvenile courts throughout the Commonwealth enter the courtroom in cuffs by default, whether or not they are considered a flight risk or pose a danger to the community. Juvenile justice system reform such as that which passed through the House will appropriately raise the age in which youths can even step foot before the criminal justice system and will ensure that the physical and psychological harm accompanied with indiscriminate shackling is limited.
When effective, these laws will further enhance the goals of rehabilitation and development set forth by the juvenile justice system in Massachusetts. Courts and legislatures alike have come to understand that youths must be treated differently, as they cannot be held to the same level of responsibility as their adult counterparts given their age, maturity, and development. Accordingly, these laws will take one step forward in protecting the children in our communities. The combined legislature will assemble in the coming weeks to conference the language of the bills that were passed in the house and senate, respectively, in order to eventually place a final agreed version in front of Governor Baker for signing.
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