Mendonza v. Commonwealth

In these cases we consider the constitutionality of G. L. c. 276, § 58A (1994 ed.),1 which allows a judge to detain, prior to trial, a person accused of certain crimes on the ground of that person’s dangerousness (preventive detention). In Aime v. Commonwealth, 414 Mass. 667, 668 (1992), we concluded that G. L. c. 276, § 58, as amended through St. 1992, c. 201, § 3, a predecessor to § 58A, violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. That earlier provision differed in several respects from the Bail Reform Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. § 3142, id. at…