SJC hears arguments on whether juvenile DYS confinement must count as credit against later adult sentence

The Supreme Judicial Court heard oral argument in SJC-13800 on whether time a juvenile spent confined in the Department of Youth Services should reduce the adult portion of a later combination sentence.

Attorney Lisa Lana, representing the appellant juvenile, told the court that Massachusetts jail-credit jurisprudence is rooted in "fundamental fairness" and that the unique features of juvenile law — including protections under Chapter 119, Section 53 — require courts to treat DYS confinement as creditable toward any later adult sentence. Lana said the sentencing scheme at issue is "unique" and argued that, in practice, the DYS commitment functions in ways similar to pretrial detention for the purposes of assessing liberty lost.

Lana told the court the record in this case shows the juvenile spent substantial time in secure DYS settings and that 499 days of pretrial custody had been credited only to the adult portion of the sentence. She said the client spent roughly 18 months in confinement without receiving credit toward the adult term and that, as a…