Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1902 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. 2245 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1902
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	John Francis Moran
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 the reliability of testifying informants.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:John Francis Moran9th Suffolk1/15/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2245 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1902
18	18	By Representative Moran of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1902) of John
19	19	Francis Moran relative to the reliability of testifying informants. The Judiciary.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE HOUSE, NO. 1649 OF 2023-2024.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act relative to the reliability of testifying informants.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 Chapter 233 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby
31	31	2amended by inserting after Section 21B the following: -
32	32	3 Section. 21C: Reliability of Testifying Informants
33	33	4 (a) Definitions.
34	34	5 (1) For purposes of this Chapter, “testifying informant” means someone who is
35	35	6purporting to testify about admissions made to them by the accused and who has requested or
36	36	7received or may in the future receive a benefit in connection with such testimony. 2 of 4
37	37	8 (2) This Chapter applies to any criminal proceeding in which the Commonwealth
38	38	9attempts to introduce evidence of incriminating statements made by the accused to, or overheard
39	39	10by, a testifying informant.
40	40	11 (3) For the purposes of this Chapter, “benefit” means any plea bargain, bail consideration,
41	41	12reduction or modification of sentence, or any other leniency, immunity, financial payment,
42	42	13reward, or amelioration of current or future conditions of incarceration that has been requested
43	43	14by the testifying informant or that has been offered or may be offered in the future to the
44	44	15testifying informant in connection with his or her testimony in the criminal proceeding in which
45	45	16the prosecutor intends to call him or her as a witness.
46	46	17 (b) Mandatory Documentation and Discovery of Evidence Bearing on Testifying
47	47	18Informant Reliability.
48	48	19 (1) In all cases in which a statement from a testifying informant is sought out, given, or
49	49	20otherwise procured at any stage, each district attorney’s office and the Attorney General’s Office
50	50	21shall create and maintain a centralized record documenting: (1) the complete criminal history of
51	51	22any testifying informant, including any alleged criminal conduct that has not yet resulted in
52	52	23criminal charges; (2) any deals, promises, inducements, or benefits that the Commonwealth has
53	53	24made or will make in the future to the testifying informant or their agent(s); and (3) any and all
54	54	25communications with the testifying informant including but not limited to requested or possible
55	55	26deals, promises, inducements or benefits. The record shall be collected from each district
56	56	27attorney’s office and the Attorney General’s Office by the Executive Office of Public Safety and
57	57	28Security and shall be made available to prosecutors statewide. Such records shall not be subject
58	58	29to the public records act. 3 of 4
59	59	30 (2) In accordance with the pre-trial discovery provisions of the Massachusetts Rules of
60	60	31Criminal Procedure, the Commonwealth shall timely disclose: (1) any alleged criminal conduct
61	61	32by the testifying informant that has not yet resulted in criminal charges; (2) any and all
62	62	33communications between the Commonwealth and the testifying informant or agent of the
63	63	34testifying informant regarding any deal, promise, inducement, or benefit that the offering party
64	64	35has made or will make in the future to the testifying informant, including but not limited any
65	65	36requests made by the testifying informant for a deal, promise, inducement, or benefit; (3) the
66	66	37time and place of any and all incriminating statements purportedly made by the accused to the
67	67	38testifying informant, the time and place of their disclosure by the testifying informant to law
68	68	39enforcement officials, and the names of all persons present when the accused’s statements were
69	69	40made; (4) whether at any time the testifying informant gave inconsistent statements regarding the
70	70	41purported incriminating statements by the accused, and if so, the time and place of the
71	71	42inconsistent statements, the nature of the inconsistencies, and the names of the persons who were
72	72	43present for the inconsistent statement; (5) all other cases or investigations in which the testifying
73	73	44informant testified, provided information, or otherwise assisted with a police investigation or
74	74	45prosecution, including cases or investigations in other Massachusetts counties, and whether in
75	75	46those other cases or investigations the testifying informant received any promise, inducement, or
76	76	47benefit in exchange for or subsequent to that testimony or assistance; (6) any other information
77	77	48relevant to the testifying informant’s credibility.
78	78	49 (3) In accordance with the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure, the judge may at
79	79	50any time order that the discovery or inspection described herein be denied, restricted, or deferred,
80	80	51or make such other order as is appropriate. The judge may, for cause shown grant discovery to a
81	81	52defendant on the condition that the material to be discovered be available only to counsel for the 4 of 4
82	82	53defendant. This provision does not alter the allocation of the burden of proof with regard to the
83	83	54matter at issue, including privilege.
84	84	55 (c) Reliability hearing.
85	85	56 (1) In accordance with the pre-trial discovery provisions of the Massachusetts Rules of
86	86	57Criminal Procedure, the Commonwealth shall timely disclose its intent to introduce the
87	87	58testimony of a testifying informant.
88	88	59 (2) Where such notice is given, the trial court shall conduct a hearing to determine
89	89	60whether the testimony of the informant is reliable, unless the defendant waives such a hearing.
90	90	61 (3) At the hearing, the Commonwealth shall bear the burden of establishing by a
91	91	62preponderance of the evidence that the proposed informant’s testimony reliable. The court shall
92	92	63consider the factors enumerated in subsection 2(b), as well as any other factors relating to
93	93	64reliability.
94	94	65 (4) If the Commonwealth fails to satisfy its burden of establishing the reliability of the
95	95	66proposed informant testimony by a preponderance of the evidence, the court shall not allow the
96	96	67testimony to be heard at trial.
97	97	68 (5) If a testifying informant receives leniency related to a pending charge, conviction, or a
98	98	69sentence for a crime against a victim in connection with offering or providing testimony against
99	99	70a suspect or defendant, the prosecutor shall notify such victim.