COFFIN v. SUPERINTENDENT, MASSACHUSETTS TREATMENT CENTER

SJC-10605.

458 Mass. 186 (2010)

ALFRED J. COFFIN v. SUPERINTENDENT, MASSACHUSETTS TREATMENT CENTER, & another.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

November 4, 2010.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Ryan M. Schiff , Committee for Public Counsel Services ( Beth L. Eisenberg , Committee for Public Counsel Services, & Lorenzo Perez with him) for the plaintiff.

Ellyn H. Lazar-Moore , Assistant District Attorney, for District Attorney for the Middle District.

Martha Coakley , Attorney General, & Argie K. Shapiro & Pamela L. Hunt , Assistant Attorneys General, for the Attorney General, amicus curiae, submitted a brief.

Present: MARSHALL, C.J., IRELAND, SPINA, COWIN, CORDY, BOTSFORD, & GANTS, JJ.


COWIN, J.

General Laws c. 123A, § 12 (b) (§ 12 [b]), permits the Commonwealth to file a petition to commit a person as a "sexually dangerous person" (SDP) only if the person is a "prisoner or youth in the custody of the department of youth services." This case requires that we decide whether, for purposes of § 12 (b), a person placed in custody pursuant to an unconstitutional statute is nevertheless a "prisoner" within the meaning...

Let's get started

Leagle.com

Welcome to the leading source of independent legal reporting
Sign on now to see your case.
Or view more than 10 million decisions and orders.

  • Updated daily.
  • Uncompromising quality.
  • Complete, Accurate, Current.

Listed below are the cases that are cited in this Featured Case. Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. Citations are also linked in the body of the Featured Case.

Cited Cases

  • No Cases Found

Listed below are those cases in which this Featured Case is cited. Click on the case name to see the full text of the citing case.

Citing Cases