Assistant District Attorney Katherine McMahon Appointed by SJC to the Standing Committee on Eyewitness Identification
November 2, 2016 -Springfield, MA- Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni has announced the appointment of Assistant District Attorney Katherine E. McMahon to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Eyewitness Identification. ADA McMahon currently serves as Chief of Appeals in the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni stated, “I am proud to announce Kate’s appointment by Chief Justice Ralph Gants to the standing committee. The appointment is a testament to Kate’s long and accomplished history of public service. I am exceedingly confident Kate will represent all of the state’s district attorneys and residents of the Commonwealth with a steadfast commitment to justice.”
Assistant District Attorney McMahon stated, “I am honored to serve on the standing committee on behalf of the district attorneys. The committee does important work to improve the quality of justice in the Commonwealth, and I am eager to contribute to its mission.”
In the fall of 2011the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appointed a study group on eyewitness identification to “offer guidance as to how our courts can most effectively deter unnecessarily suggestive identification procedures and minimize the risk of wrongful identification.” The study group recommended and the justices accepted the appointment of a standing committee to work on training and monitor developments in science as it related to eyewitness identification.
ADA McMahon will serve on the committee on behalf of the state’s district attorney’s. The term of this appointment runs until January 1, 2018.
About ADA Katherine McMahon
A native of Holyoke, She is a graduate of Fairfield University (’77) where she earned a B.A. cum laude and Western New England University School of Law (‘82) earing a J.D. cum laude. Attorney McMahon’s legal career spans thirty-three years in five district attorney’s offices, including serving as the chief of appeals units in the Suffolk and Middle (Worcester) District DA’s Offices. Other past positions include; former attorney for the Department of Social Services and an appeals attorney for the clerk’s office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Additionally, Attorney McMahon is an editor of the Massachusetts Law Review, a position held since 1997.
Attorney McMahon joined the Hampden District Attorney’s Office in May, 2001. Her work as an ADA has been in appeals, which includes regular appearances before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court, as well as post-conviction matters in superior court.