Today the Supreme Judicial Court issued a slip opinion on whether juveniles have a right to counsel at certain transfer hearings.
This case presents the question whether a defendant who was a minor at the time the crime was committed but an adult when charged is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel at a transfer hearing held pursuant to G. L. c. 119, § 72A (§ 72A) — a hearing during which a Juvenile Court judge determines, inter alia, whether the defendant should be tried as an adult on the criminal charge or be discharged, thereby ending the prosecution.
According to the SJC
We conclude that the transfer hearing is a critical stage of the criminal process at which the defendant is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel.
The full text of the slip opinion is attached below.