Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

A statement I made in high school about a young man, who is now my friend, was used in a court case against him without my permission. The statement is outdated and now is a false representation and assessment of the character of this young man. Basically, he went through a difficult time, and was angry throughout high school. Which was years ago. He pulled his act together, was wrongfully accused of a hate crime, and my "statement" was used against him in court. I was not read any rights and I was a minor alone with my school Vice Principal and perhaps an officer--it was so long ago I can't recall. How do I go about getting my statement removed from a closed court case? I am being questioned by reporters, and would like that to end. Also, this young man I consider a friend, and who I am very proud of for bettering himself, is--rightfully--under the impression that I gave permission for the prosecutor to use my statement against him. Please let me know how I can go about petitioning/who I can talk to in order to get my name and statement off of this court file for good.


Asked on 1/27/10, 4:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
henry lebensbaum Law Offices of Henry Lebensbaum (978-749-3606)

A statement to be used in court does not require your permission.

The case is closed, and there is nothing that you can do you can do about it.

The Defendant can under some circumstances move to seal the record.

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Answered on 2/02/10, 7:31 am
George Davis Law Office of T. George Davis, Jr.

Although there are a few exceptions, generally speaking an out-of-court statement by someone (in this instance, that person was you) is considered "hearsay" and cannot be used in court for purposes of trying to validate the "truth" of what the statement says, so I'm confused by what you've said about this matter, and don't understand how or why your statement got used in court. In any event, now that the case is finished, the defendant may appeal the decision (if time has not run out already) based on any number of possible reasons (including, perhaps, the improper use of your statement in the court proceedings), but you are not a party to the case, and you have no rights in that regard.

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Answered on 2/02/10, 10:07 am


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