Donovan v. Massachusetts Parole Board, No. 23-1810 (1st Cir. Dec. 23, 2025)
Mar 11, 2026OUTCOME: District Court Reversed and Remanded - En Banc Review Denied - No Application for Cert
I argued and won reversal in the First Circuit on an issue of first impression in federal habeas procedure. My client was convicted of felony murder at 17 and received a mandatory sentence of life with ... out parole. After Miller v. Alabama and the SJC's decision in Diatchenko, his sentence became parole-eligible and he was released. The district court ruled that his new habeas petition was "second or successive" and barred without circuit pre-authorization under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b). The First Circuit reversed. It held that converting a juvenile life-without-parole sentence to life with parole eligibility creates a new judgment under Magwood v. Patterson, so a petition challenging that judgment is not subject to AEDPA's gatekeeping requirements, even when it attacks the underlying conviction. Pro bono.
