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Commonwealth and appellee clash over sealing standard in Massachusetts Appeals Court
Summary
At oral argument in docket 25 P 327 on April 15, 2026, the Commonwealth urged the Appeals Court to scrutinize whether trial judges properly weighed a petitioner's decades-long record against the Pond checklist; the appellee countered he has shown rehabilitation through compliance and civic work. The court took the case under submission.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court heard arguments on April 15, 2026, in docket 25 P 327, an impounded petition seeking sealing of prior matters. The Commonwealth, represented by Attorney Jocelyn McGrath, urged the panel to review whether the trial judges misapplied the statutory standard for sealing, arguing the full record shows the petitioner is not rehabilitated and therefore not eligible for sealing. The court — sitting with Justices Eric Neyman, Rachel Hershfang and Robin Tune — took the case under submission.
McGrath framed the Commonwealth’s principal contention as a question about whether judges gave insufficient weight to a petitioner’s long-term record of repeated filings and sealings. She told the court a related unpublished decision, Commonwealth v. A.S. (106 Mass. App. Ct. 1121, unpublished), had gone the other way in part but emphasized unpublished opinions are not precedent. She argued the record here contains little…
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