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Justina Pelletier custody case
"In the long run the state has the final
say. …The main principle here is that you always want to go for the
child's best interest. If the parents can't do it, the state steps in."
MBA Past Criminal Justice Section
Chair Peter Elikann, FOX25, March 20
Massachusetts juvenile court judge awarded the State
Department of Children and Families (DCF) permanent custody of
15-year-old Justina Pelletier in a widely publicized ruling on
Tuesday. The custody dispute between Justina's parents and DCF has
been ongoing since February 2013 when the state agency was granted
temporary custody of the teen after a recommendation from Boston
Children's Hospital suspected the parents of medical child abuse.
FOX25 also spoke to MBA President-elect Marsha V. Kazarosian on
March 21 as part of a weekly rundown of the high-profile legal
cases in the state. Vice President Martha Rush O'Mara was also a
guest on FOX25 after the decision was announced on Tuesday.
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Jared Remy
case
"It takes the child out of the middle,
and it also gives respect and deference for both sets of
grandparents to understand that whatever happened, [all] of these
grandparents obviously are going to love and care for this
child. "
MBA President-elect Marsha V.
Kazarosian, Boston Globe, March 25
Kazarosian spoke to the Boston Globe after a settlement
was reached and a trial was averted in the custody case involving
five-year-old Arianna Remy, the daughter of Jennifer Martel and
Jared Remy. Martel was allegedly murdered last August by Remy, who
is in prison awaiting trial. An agreement was reached granting
Martel's parents custody of the child with the paternal
grandparents, Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy and his wife Phoebe,
receiving visitation rights. Arianna had been in state foster care
since the alleged incident. Defense attorney and MBA spokesman
Peter Elikann was also a guest on the WGBH TV program "Greater
Boston" on Thursday evening to discuss Jared Remy's legal
history.
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