NACDL - Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Brown

Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Brown

Brief of Juvenile Law Center, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, et al. as Amici Curiae on Behalf of Appellee (full list of amici in appendix to attached brief).

Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Brown

Brief Details

Case No.: SJC-11454
Brief Filed: August 16, 2013
Jurisdiction: Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Key Topics in the Brief

Juvenile Justice | Sentencing | Eighth Amendment | Graham v. Florida | Milller | Mandatory Life Without Parole | Mandatory Life With Parole

Briefs

Commonwealth-of-Massachusetts-v-Brown-Amicus.pdf

Prior Decision

On reservation and report by the single justice of the Commonwealth’s G.L.c. 211, § 3 petition, case below No. 09-00963 (Middlesex Superior Court, Kimberly S. Budd, J.)

Argument(s)

Massachusetts’s mandatory life without parole sentencing scheme for juveniles convicted of first degree murder is unconstitutional under the United States and Massachusetts Constitutions. Marquise Brown should be sentenced based on the most severe lesser included offense of manslaughter. Mandatory life with parole sentences contravene Miller and Graham.