Your case is unique, but you are not alone.

About 41,000 new cases are filed in U.S. courts every weekday. Behind each one is a person trying to understand what happens next. Here’s what the public record can tell you about this matter — and about the people deciding it.

  • Know your judge

    Every judge has a pattern — what they grant, what they deny, how they handle the kinds of motions your case will see.

  • Know your attorney

    See an attorney’s actual track record — case types, courts, and how they’ve performed in front of this judge before.

  • Know your court

    Every courthouse has its own rhythm — filing-to-resolution times, common dispositions, how often cases like yours settle.

Is this judge more likely to rule for the plaintiff or the defendant in cases of this type?

How has your attorney actually performed in front of this judge?

AICasePredict surfaces patterns from public court records. We don’t predict outcomes and we don’t recommend changing your attorney — that’s a conversation for you and them. We just show you what the record already says.

Full Analytics Report

  • Complete case narrative
  • Judge details and rulings
  • Case disposition and outcome
  • All docket entries
  • Related cases and filings
$20
One-time purchase
Photo of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Court

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Massachusetts

View Court Profile

Case Information

Filed 2023-03-24
Status Decided, Rescript issued
Type Criminal
Docket 38 entries

Docket Entries

  1. Entered.
  2. ANNOUNCEMENT: The Justices are soliciting amicus briefs. Whether G. L. c. 119, § 68, eighth para., which provides that juvenile defendants charged with murder and ordered detained pretrial must be committed "to the custody of the sheriff," effectively calls for those juvenile defendants to be housed in adult detention facilities; including, (1) whether, or to what extent, county sheriffs have the authority to transfer such juvenile defendants to the custody of the Department of Youth Services until their eighteenth birthday, either under G. L. c. 120, § 15, or another source of authority; and (2) whether, or to what extent, G. L. c. 119, § 66, which prohibits children under eighteen from being "committed by the court to a jail," has any applicability to the pretrial detention of juvenile defendants charged with murder. Whether G. L. c. 119, § 68, eighth para., is facially unconstitutional; including, (1) whether § 68, eighth para., lacks a rational basis, in violation of substantive due process or equal protection under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights; and (2) whether § 68, eighth para., imposes a condition of pretrial confinement on juvenile defendants that amounts to punishment, in violation of due process under the Federal Constitution or the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
  3. Appellant brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Katherine Briggs, A.A.G.. (Amended brief filed on June 1, 2023. See paper #12.)
  4. Appendix filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  5. Reply brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  6. The clerk's office has received the appellant's brief, appendix, and reply brief through e-fileMA. The briefs and appendix have been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellant shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief and reply brief, and 3 copies of the appendix within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (NOTE: The cover of the brief shall be blue, the cover of the appendix shall be white, and the cover of the reply brief shall be grey.)
  7. Motion to file supplemental or substitute brief filed for Dante S. Padilla by Attorney Eva G. Jellison. (No action necessary)
  8. ORDER: Notwithstanding the briefing limitations imposed under Mass. R. App. P. 11, the parties may file amended briefs in light of the court's amicus solicitation. The appellant's brief would be due on or before April 28, 2023; the appellee's brief would be due on or before May 26, 2023; a reply brief, if any, would be due 14 days after the filing of the appellee's brief. The parties shall inform the court by April 7, 2023, whether they intend to file amended briefs.
  9. Notice of intent to file amended brief filed for Dante S. Padilla by Attorney Eva G. Jellison.
  10. Notice of intent to file amended brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  11. Motion to extend to date for filing of appellant's amended brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs. (ALLOWED to May 8, 2023.)
  12. Motion to extend to date for filing of appellant's amended brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs. (ALLOWED to May 31, 2023)
  13. AMENDED Appellant brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  14. Appendix filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  15. Supplemental Appendix filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  16. Motion to expand the record and file a supplemental appendix filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs. (Referred to the Quorum)
  17. Appearance filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  18. The clerk's office has received the appellant's brief, appendix, and supplemental appendix through e-fileMA. The brief and appendices have been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellant shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief and 3 copies of the appendix and supplemental appendix within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (NOTE: The cover of the brief shall be blue, the cover of the appendices shall be white.)
  19. Motion to extend to date for filing of appellee's brief filed for Dante S. Padilla by Attorney Eva G. Jellison. (ALLOWED to July 28, 2023.)
  20. Additional 4 copies of appellant's brief and 3 copies of appendix and supplemental appendix filed by Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.
  21. NOTICE of September argument sent.
  22. Appellee brief filed for Dante S. Padilla by Attorney Eva G. Jellison.
  23. The clerk's office has received the appellee's brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellee shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellee's brief shall be red.)
  24. Appendix filed for Dante S. Padilla by Attorney Eva G. Jellison.
  25. The clerk's office has received the appellee's appendix through e-fileMA. The appendix has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellee shall file with the clerk 3 copies of the appendix within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellee's appendix shall be white.)
  26. NOTICE of October argument sent.
  27. Additional 4 copies of appellee's brief and 3 copies of appendix filed by Dante S. Padilla.
  28. Reply brief filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs.
  29. The clerk's office has received the appellant's reply brief through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The appellant shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (Note: Cover of appellant's reply brief shall be grey.)
  30. Additional 4 copies of appellant's reply brief copies of filed by Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.
  31. ORDERED for argument on October 4.
  32. Amicus brief filed for Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Citizens for Juvenile Justice by Attorney Taylor Henley.
  33. The clerk's office has received the amicus brief filed for the Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Citizens for Juvenile Justice through e-fileMA. The brief has been accepted for filing and entered on the docket. The amici curiae Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Citizens for Juvenile Justice shall file with the clerk 4 copies of the brief within 5 days. The clerk's office may require additional copies if necessary. (NOTE: The cover of the brief shall be green.)
  34. Additional 4 copies of amicus brief filed by Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division.
  35. Motion to file letter in response to amicus brief (Response included in motion) filed for Massachusetts Department of Youth Services by Attorney Katherine Briggs. (Referred to the Quorum)
  36. Oral argument held. (Budd, C.J., Gaziano, J., Lowy, J., Cypher, J., Kafker, J., Wendlandt, J., Georges, Jr., J.). View Webcast
  37. NOTICE: The video recording of the oral argument in this matter has been posted to the SJC YouTube archive. Subscribe and view: https://www.youtube.com/c/massachusettssupremejudicialcourt.
  38. RESCRIPT (Rescript Opinion): We answer "No" to the first and second questions, as we have construed them, and decline to answer the third question. The report is discharged, and the case is remanded to the Superior Court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. (By the Court)

See the patterns behind this case

The free view above tells you who’s in the room. The detailed reports below show how the room tends to behave — using the same public records lawyers quietly rely on before every hearing.

  • Judge Report

    How this judge has ruled in cases like yours — case mix, motion outcomes, and historical docket. Judges set the floor of what’s possible in your courtroom.

  • Attorney vs Judge Report

    Everything in the Judge Report, plus how your attorney has actually performed in front of this judge. Attorneys move you off the floor — or don’t.

One-time payment, no subscription. Reports describe past public court activity — they don’t predict outcomes and they aren’t legal advice.

Get Free Case Details

Enter your email to receive case information including parties, docket entries, and status updates.

By submitting you agree to our Privacy Policy.

Need this case removed? Enter your email above — the confirmation email includes a case removal link.

Legal Analytics Has Been Featured In

Featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, The New Yorker, Above The Law, American Bar Association, and more