In 1996 my wife Nikki and I rented our first apartment as a married couple in Bourne.After 4 years of paying off student loans and building up our savings, we purchased our first home in Bourne.In 2001 and 2004 we welcomed our two sons – both born at Cape Cod Hospital. As a young family, we settled in the Bourne community, volunteering and in civic service with town boards and committees.
The opioid crisis continues to ravage our families and strain our communities. Progress in decreasing opioid related incidents and deaths on the Cape has been all but erased during the pandemic. Understanding opioid use as a mental and behavioral health disorder, my office will prioritize expansion of access to treatment through in-patient care, outside counseling, and holistic community-based recovery support.
The pandemic has exacerbated mental health disorders across the lifespan. With so many individuals who struggle with mental health disorders finding themselves caught up in our criminal justice system and, ultimately, our courts, I pledge to work with Court officials to create a Mental Health Court Session in a similar spirit with Recovery Court in order to provide undivided, specialized attention to those needing mental health services.
MA General Laws Chapter 276A allows for and governs pre-trial diversion in the district courts. Pre-trial diversion gives qualifying defendants the opportunity to avoid the criminal justice system and preserve their record. My office will seek to identify eligible individuals – those charged with minor, non-violent, and/or non-OUI offenses – as candidates for a diversion program that includes community service.
Cash bail and pretrial detention run the risk of creating two systems of justice – one for those whose lives are derailed for lack of ability to pay cash bail and one for those who can afford bail and resume their lives pending trial. Wealth -or lack thereof – should not be a criterion in determining pretrial detention. At the same time, pretrial detention can be a powerful instrument for protecting public safety.
In cases involving non-violent misdemeanor offenses, my office will seek a Court Order requiring Defendants to abide by appropriate conditions upon arraignment. This practice is consistent with our Federal Courts and guards against the discriminating against the financially disadvantaged.
For those cases where personal and public safety are in jeopardy – those involving violent misdemeanors and felonies, major drug trafficking and firearms - my office will work to remove violent offenders from our communities by pursuing pretrial detention through the appropriate governing authorities.
Racial disparities exist in the criminal justice system throughout Massachusetts, including the Cape. To improve the administration of justice for everyone in our communities, we must engage in courageous, frank, and open conversations about race. As District Attorney, I will work to ensure the fundamental fairness of our criminal justice system through education, collaboration, and action.
To enable our communities to grow village by village, neighborhood by neighborhood, and street by street we must unite to share our knowledge of how justice is being administered and how each of us is impacted by our decisions.
We must be willing to examine our own implicit biases. We must seek and use data to better understand the problem and create solutions. And we must all work together – the District Attorney’s office, our talented law enforcement officials, dedicated community leaders, and social justice activists - to narrow the gap and pursue equal treatment under the law.
Cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approaches are not justice. Every case deserves specific attention as each case is uniquely its own. My office will prepare for each sentencing recommendation we make on each case every day.
Homebound elderly, those with ambulatory challenges, and individuals with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abusive and predatory behavior due to their social isolation and dependence on caregivers. My office will create a specialized unit tasked with safeguarding against abuse of elders and individuals with disabilities and working with community organizations to most effectively support victims and prosecute offenders.
On occasion, our Veterans find themselves entangled in the criminal justice arena. We owe our Veterans the freedoms we enjoy each day. In turn, they deserve our close attention to respond to the events that bring them to the criminal justice system. A Veterans Court Session, supported by other volunteering Veterans, can provide a venue where dialogue with those who have been there can bring about true understandings of the issues held by Veteran appearing before the Court.
Within days of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which over-turned Roe v. Wade and ended federal protection of women’s right to privacy, reproductive health, and bodily autonomy, I publicly announced my position in support of women's reproductive rights.
Since that time, the prospects of a national abortion ban being passed following the 2022 general election spurred me to take an even stronger stance in support of women's reproductive rights.
If a national ban on abortion is passed, I pledge that as District Attorney I will never prosecute someone for seeking or getting an abortion. I will use my legal discretion and not prosecute anyone for seeking or getting an abortion, providing abortion care, or information.