MA- Mass. court strikes down civil commitment

2-11-2009 Massachusetts:

BOSTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A law allowing Massachusetts to keep juveniles in custody past the age of 18 gives the state too much discretion, the state's highest court says.

The Supreme Judicial Court struck the law down Tuesday, The Boston Globe reported. Twelve people between the ages of 18 and 21 are currently being held under civil commitment by the Department of Youth Services.

"The language contains no indication of the nature and degree of dangerousness that would justify continued commitment and offers the department no guidance on how to make such a determination," wrote Justice Judith Cowin in the court's opinion.

DYS spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz said that the department expects lawyers for the 12 to file motions seeking their release.

The law has been on the books since 1948. It was amended in 1990 to give the department more discretion, eliminating guidelines for deciding that a juvenile was still dangerous.

Barbara Kaban of the Children's Law Center, who represented one of the three young people challenging the law, said that all three were told one day before their 18th birthdays that the state was seeking civil commitment. ..News Source.. by UOI.com