|
The other issue with 58A is that you can only hold someone under it for 90 days, absent "good cause" for an extension. The Commonwealth can rarely bring a sex abuse against a child case to trial that quickly. Often there are confidential records that have to be obtained and made available to the defense attorney, and getting those records to a clerk's office usually takes longer than 90 days.
Also--the chances of a case proceeding to trial within 90 days in, say, Brockton District Court, or New Bedford District Court, or the Boston Municipal Court, are right up there with winning the lottery. Volume. Defendants being held in custody have a priority for trials, and many defendants wait 6-9 months for District Court trials. In Superior Court, cases rarely if ever get tried within 6 months.
There's legislation now pending on Beacon Hill that would extend the detention without bail to 120 days and expand the list of 58A designated crimes. Whether it passes or not is another story.
|