News, Pleadings
David Nathanson
Public Trial Amicus Brief

On March 6, 2017, Attorney Wood and a team of attorneys from Ropes & Gray filed a brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Weaver v. Massachusetts, No. 16-240. They argue that the Court should not shy away from vindicating the treasured right to a public trial. The government's argument that vindicating the right to a public trial would "open up the floodgates" is both factually incorrect and diverts attention from the real issue: whether our Constitution entitles everyone to a public trial. Read the brief here.

Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Brownlow Speer Award for Appellate Advocacy

Brownlow Speer Award for Appellate Advocacy

On March 1, 2023, Attorney Wood received MACDL's Brownlow Speer Award for "excellence in appellate advocacy in the defense of the accused." The award recognizes both Attorney Wood’s work on behalf of his own clients resulting in the reversal of more than twenty convictions and sentences and his work with MACDL in advancing the law, authoring or co-authoring approximately 120 amicus briefs as co-chair of MACDL’s amicus committee. (Pictured is Attorney Wood with CPCS Attorney Rafael Feliciano-Cumbas who received MACDL’s Hines-Burnham Award for young defenders whose work shows exceptional promise, skill, and innovation.)

MACDL Conference Features Multiple Wood & Nathanson Attorneys

The 2022 conference of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers featured multiple Wood & Nathanson attorneys. MACDL’s newest board member, Senior Associate Melissa Ramos, made sure the event ran smoothly taking charge of logistics for MACDL’s largest substantive event of the year. Attorney Wood presented on gang databases as an unreliable and unconstitutional proxy for race. He also recruited many of the speakers. Attorney Jellison presented on the police use of “training and experience” as cover for racial profiling and lack of reasonable suspicion. Wood & Nathanson attorneys are consistently sought out to present at MACDL and other continuing legal education seminars.