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Essex County prosecutor outlines federal and Massachusetts statutes used to prosecute bias‑motivated crimes
Summary
Essex County Assistant District Attorney Dave O'Sullivan briefed the commission on federal and state hate‑crime statutes, their elements, and practical limits prosecutors face when pursuing bias‑motivated offenses.
Dave O’Sullivan, Deputy Chief of Appeals in the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, told the Special Commission on Antisemitism that federal and Massachusetts statutes offer a range of criminal tools for bias‑motivated offenses but that each has different elements and practical limits.
O’Sullivan reviewed federal statutes including the federal Hate Crime Act (18 U.S.C. §249) and the civil‑rights violation statute (18 U.S.C. §245), noting that federal prosecution sometimes requires written certification by the U.S. attorney general if the state has not pursued the case. He described other federal tools — conspiracy and color‑of‑law provisions, the Church Arson Prevention Act, the Freedom to…
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