Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1752 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3111 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1752
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Jeffrey N. Roy
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to compensation for victims of wrongful conviction.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Jeffrey N. Roy10th Norfolk1/18/2023 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3111 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1752
18	18	By Representative Roy of Franklin, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1752) of Jeffrey
19	19	N. Roy relative to compensation for victims of wrongful conviction. The Judiciary.
20	20	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
21	21	_______________
22	22	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
23	23	(2023-2024)
24	24	_______________
25	25	An Act relative to compensation for victims of wrongful conviction.
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
27	27	of the same, as follows:
28	28	1 SECTION 1. Section 9 of Chapter 211D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
29	29	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting in place thereof the
30	30	3following words:
31	31	4 (e) a method for the provision of social services including, but not limited to, referrals for
32	32	5transitional services relating to the physical, social, and emotional needs of persons after release
33	33	6from incarceration.
34	34	7 SECTION 2. Chapter 211D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by inserting after
35	35	8section 16 the following section:
36	36	9 Section 17. The Committee shall establish, supervise and maintain a system for the
37	37	10assignment of social service advocates to assist indigents who are eligible for transitional
38	38	11assistance under Chapter 258D of the General Laws section 10(B). 2 of 6
39	39	12 SECTION 3. Section 1 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
40	40	13amended by striking subsection (B)(ii) and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
41	41	14 (ii) those who have been granted judicial relief by a state court of competent jurisdiction,
42	42	15on grounds consistent with the innocence of the individual as set forth in clause (vi) of
43	43	16subsection (C), provided however that if the state court granting judicial relief does not address
44	44	17all grounds for relief, as asserted in an appeal or a motion for post-conviction relief, and if at
45	45	18least one of such grounds is consistent with innocence, the grounds asserted in such motion may
46	46	19be relied upon by the claimant to satisfy the requirement that there are grounds which are
47	47	20consistent with innocence, and if (a) the judicial relief vacates or reverses the judgment of a
48	48	21felony conviction, and the felony indictment or complaint used to charge the individual with
49	49	22such felony has been dismissed, or if a new trial was ordered, the individual was not retried and
50	50	23the felony indictment or complaint was dismissed or a nolle prosequi was entered, or if a new
51	51	24trial was ordered and the individual was found not guilty at the new trial; and (b) at the time of
52	52	25the filing of an action under this chapter no criminal proceeding is pending or can be brought
53	53	26against the individual by a district attorney or the attorney general for any act associated with
54	54	27such felony conviction.
55	55	28 SECTION 4. Section 1(C) of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
56	56	29striking the words “clear and convincing” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “a
57	57	30preponderance of the”.
58	58	31 SECTION 5. Section 1 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
59	59	32striking subsection (G) and inserting in place thereof the following:- 3 of 6
60	60	33 (G) A claimant shall be entitled to preliminary relief under subsection (E) of section 5
61	61	34upon filing a complaint pursuant to this chapter that avers that the claimant meets the eligibility
62	62	35requirements as stated in subsection (B) above.
63	63	36 SECTION 6. Section 3 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
64	64	37adding at the end the following words:- In any event a case filed pursuant to this chapter shall be
65	65	38placed on a fast track.
66	66	39 SECTION 7. Section 5 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
67	67	40striking subsection (A) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
68	68	41 (A) Upon a finding or verdict that the claimant has met the requirements of section 1 by
69	69	42the requisite standard of proof and is not barred from compensation by section 2, the court or the
70	70	43jury shall determine the damages that shall be payable to the claimant. In making such
71	71	44determination, the court or jury shall consider, but not be limited to, the consideration of: the
72	72	45income the claimant would have earned, but for his conviction, incarceration, parole or other
73	73	46supervised release, or collateral consequences of his conviction or sentence; the particular
74	74	47circumstances of the claimant's trial and other proceedings; the length and conditions under
75	75	48which the claimant was incarcerated or on parole or other supervised release and; any other
76	76	49factors deemed appropriate under the circumstances in order to fairly and reasonably compensate
77	77	50the claimant. The court, in its discretion, may admit expert testimony on these or any factors. The
78	78	51court may include, as part of its judgment against the commonwealth, an order requiring the
79	79	52commonwealth to provide the claimant with services to address the individual’s physical, social,
80	80	53and emotional needs, including financial literacy training, and waive tuition and fees for the
81	81	54claimant for any educational services from a state or community college in the commonwealth 4 of 6
82	82	55including, but not limited to, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and its satellite
83	83	56campuses. Once the damages have been determined, the court shall enter a judgment against the
84	84	57commonwealth for the claimant in an amount certain. A judgment against the commonwealth
85	85	58may not include punitive or exemplary damages. The damages award shall not be reduced by
86	86	59any transitional assistance grant or award of services, tuition or fees under Sections 5(A) or (E)
87	87	60or Section 10 or any award of reasonable attorney fees and costs of litigation as provided in
88	88	61section 6 below. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the clerk of court
89	89	62shall not add to the judgment and the commonwealth shall not be liable for paying, any
90	90	63prejudgment or post judgment interest on damages. Subject to section 4, relative to award or
91	91	64settlements, the rights and remedies afforded to certain individuals by this chapter are not
92	92	65intended to limit in any way any rights or remedies that such individuals or other individuals may
93	93	66be entitled to exercise and pursue under common law or under any other state or federal statute
94	94	67including without limitation chapter 258 and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983.
95	95	68 SECTION 8. Section 5 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
96	96	69striking subsection (E) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
97	97	70 (E) Upon a ruling in favor of a claimant moving for preliminary relief under subsection
98	98	71(G) of section 1, the court shall enter an order requiring the commonwealth to provide the
99	99	72claimant with a transitional assistance grant of $15,000 and services to address the claimant's
100	100	73physical, social, and emotional needs and waive tuition and fees for the claimant for any
101	101	74educational services from a state or community college in the commonwealth including, but not
102	102	75limited to, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and its satellite campuses. 5 of 6
103	103	76 SECTION 9. Section 6 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
104	104	77inserting after the word “chapter,” the following words:- “, or who enters into a settlement
105	105	78agreement with the commonwealth in connection with a claim asserted under this chapter”.
106	106	79 SECTION 10. Section 7 of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
107	107	80striking subsection (A) and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
108	108	81 (A) Upon the entry of a judgment in favor of a claimant under this chapter or upon
109	109	82settlement of a claim brought pursuant to this chapter and following a separate hearing on the
110	110	83matter, on motion of the claimant the court shall enter an order either directing the expungement
111	111	84or sealing of those records of the claimant maintained by the department of criminal justice
112	112	85information services, the probation department, and the sex offender registry that directly pertain
113	113	86to the claimant's erroneous felony conviction case, including documents and other materials and
114	114	87any samples obtained from the claimant. The commonwealth, as well as any other law
115	115	88enforcement agency that may be directly affected by such expungement or sealing of such
116	116	89records including, but not limited to, the district attorney that prosecuted the felony case against
117	117	90the claimant, shall be given reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard on the issue of
118	118	91whether such records, documents and materials shall be so expunged or sealed. In making its
119	119	92determination as to whether such records, documents and materials shall be so expunged or
120	120	93sealed, the court shall consider the interests of privacy and justice pertaining to the claimant's
121	121	94erroneous felony conviction as well as the probable effect of such expungement or sealing on
122	122	95relevant law enforcement entities and their ability to appropriately investigate and prosecute
123	123	96other persons for the felony which forms the basis of the claim or other crimes that may relate to
124	124	97the information contained in such records, documents and materials. In addition to an order
125	125	98directing expungement or sealing of the record, a claimant who prevails in a claim brought under 6 of 6
126	126	99this chapter by way of judgment or settlement, shall be entitled to an order and judgment, signed
127	127	100by a Judge of the Superior Court, which shall attest that the claimant has been exonerated of the
128	128	101subject crime or crimes.
129	129	102 SECTION 11. Section 7 (B) of Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
130	130	103inserting after the words “conducted by the court,” the following words:-
131	131	104 “on motion of the claimant”
132	132	105 SECTION 12. Chapter 258D of the General Laws, is hereby amended by inserting after
133	133	106section 9 the following:-
134	134	107 Section 10. Transitional Assistance for Persons Released from Incarceration for
135	135	108Erroneous Felony Convictions
136	136	109 (A) Upon a person's release from incarceration for an erroneous felony conviction as
137	137	110defined in Section 1(B), the trial court in which the conviction originated shall order payment of
138	138	111transitional financial assistance in the amount of $5000 to the formerly incarcerated person.
139	139	112 (B) Upon the release from incarceration of an indigent person whose felony conviction is
140	140	113vacated, reversed, or pardoned, the trial court in which the conviction originated shall, upon
141	141	114motion demonstrating indigency, authorize funds for a social service advocate from the
142	142	115Committee for Public Counsel Services’ approved vendor list to assist the formerly incarcerated
143	143	116person in obtaining transitional services including, but not limited to, referrals for their physical,
144	144	117social and emotional needs.