The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court have appointed 12
members to a newly constituted Standing Committee on Eyewitness
Identification, whose charge will be to offer guidance to the
courts regarding eyewitness identification procedures.
In appointing the Standing Committee, the Justices were
following the recommendation of their Study Group on Eyewitness
Identification, formed in 2011, to consider the most effective ways
to deter unnecessarily suggestive procedures and to determine
whether existing model jury instructions provide adequate guidance
to juries in evaluating eyewitness testimony.
Recognizing the need to respond to science as it evolves, the
Study Group, in its
2013 report, recommended that the Justices establish a Standing
Committee to periodically meet to assess the evolving science and
law of eyewitness identification and make appropriate
recommendations to the Justices in light of their findings. The
Standing Committee is also charged with working on educational
seminars and trainings to address new eyewitness evidence
procedures and protocols.
The Standing Committee on Eyewitness Identification members,
appointed for staggered terms of one to three years, are:
- Hon. Michael L. Fabbri, District Court Department, Committee
Chair*
- Hon. Robert Kane, Superior Court Department*
- Hon. Jonathan Tynes, Boston Municipal Court Department*
- Hon. Jay Blitzman, Juvenile Court Department*
- Chief William G. Brooks, Norwood Police Department
- Lt. Colonel Frank Matthews, Massachusetts State Police
- Assistant Attorney General Ryan E. Ferch, Massachusetts
Attorney General's Office
- Assistant District Attorney Jane Montori, Hampden County
District Attorney's Office
- Professor Daniel Medwed, Northeastern University School of
Law
- Professor Sharon Beckman, Boston College Law School
- Radha Natarajan, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel
Services*
- Lisa Steele, Esq., Steele & Associates
* MBA member