From In the Matter of K.P., decided June 26, 2024 by the Massachusetts District Court Appellate Division (Judge Thomas L. Finigan, joined by Judges Kevin J. Finnerty and Jean M. Curran) but only recently posted on Westlaw:
In the fall of 2016, the appellant's addiction to painkillers and fentanyl led to the filing by his mother of a "section 35" petition in the District Court. General Laws c. 123, § 35 ("section 35") authorizes the involuntary civil commitment of a person for care and treatment where "there is a likelihood of serious harm as a result of the person's alcohol or substance use disorder." After examination by a court clinician and a subsequent hearing, a District Court judge committed the appellant ("K.P.") to a substance abuse treatment facility for a period not to exceed ninety days. K.P. did not appeal his commitment and was discharged from the facility approximately one month later.
A civil commitment under section 35 has a collateral consequence—it disqualifies an individual from holding a license to carry a firearm. The bar is not absolute. Rather, after the passage of five years, a person may file a petition with the District Court that ordered the commitment, seeking relief from the disqualification to obtain or restore a license to carry. In this case, K.P. did so and was denied. K.P. now appeals that denial….
The court [in a section 35 restoration proceeding] may grant relief "in accordance with the principles of due process" if the person's circumstances, record, and reputation are such that "(i) the person is not likely to act in a manner that is dangerous to public safety; and (ii) the granting of relief would not be contrary to the public interest." In so doing, the court may consider the opinion of a licensed physician or clinical psychologist that the person is "no longer suffering from the disease or condition that caused the disability or that the disease or condition has been successfully treated for a period of 3 consecutive years."
Roughly six and a half years following his commitment, K.P. filed a petition in the court that ordered his commitment seeking to restore his right to possess a firearm. In support of his petition, K.P. submitted letters from his father, mother (the original petitioner under section 35), and his girlfriend, as well as a letter and affidavit from K.P. himself, which included copies of clean drug screenings mandated by his employer. The supporting materials described K.P. as an individual who had overcome his addiction, maintained employment as a commercial truck driver, obtained his real estate salesperson's license, and was in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend while parenting his children. Nonetheless, a District Court judge denied K.P.'s petition without a hearing.
