Governor Healey Nominates Jamie Bennett and Benjamin Mann to Juvenile Court

 Governor Healey Nominates Jamie Bennett and Benjamin Mann to Juvenile Court 

BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey today nominated Jamie Bennett and Benjamin Mann to serve as Associate Justices of the Juvenile Court. The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.  

“The Juvenile Court plays an essential role in protecting the rights and wellbeing of our young people, their families and our communities,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Both Jamie and Benjamin bring decades of experience practicing juvenile law, and that expertise will be invaluable to the Juvenile Court.”   

“I am excited to support these terrific nominees as they move forward to the Governor’s Council. They have decades of experience working to help protect young people in Massachusetts, and they will be great additions to the Court,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.   

The mission of the Juvenile Court is to protect children from abuse and neglect, to promote opportunities for children to reside in safe, stable, permanent family environments, to strengthen families, to rehabilitate juveniles, and to protect the public from delinquent and criminal behavior. The Juvenile Court Department has jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters including delinquencies, youthful offender cases, care and protection matters and children requiring assistance cases. It has 42 judges, including the Chief Justice, sitting in over 40 courthouses.  

For more information about the Juvenile Court, visit its homepage. Governor Healey has previously nominated Jennifer Currie, Andrew Don, Tiffanie Ellis-Niles, Nibal Raheb, Andrew Hoffman, Audrey Murillo, Jeannie Rhinehart, Fabiola White and Karin Wilinski to the Juvenile Court.  

About the Nominees  
Jamie Bennett is currently the Attorney in Charge of the Youth Advocacy Division in the Worcester Office of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), where she has represented youth facing delinquency and youthful offender charges for nearly twenty years. She has extensive experience handling arraignment and bail arguments, negotiating plea agreements, drafting and arguing discovery motions, conducting evidentiary hearings and jury trials, and representing young people at sentencing hearings. In 2014, Attorney Bennett was elevated to her current position where she manages a staff of three attorneys and a Social Service Advocate representing court-involved youths. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College and a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law.  

Benjamin P. Mann is currently an Assistant Clerk Magistrate at the Springfield Juvenile Court, where he conducts magistrate hearings and works with court users to ensure effective access to justice in the Juvenile Court. He previously served as counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, where he coordinated legal interventions and worked with social workers to address the needs of families and children involved in care and protection proceedings throughout the Commonwealth. Attorney Mann also served as the Managing Attorney and a civil litigator at Zwicker & Associates and an Assistant District Attorney for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. Prior to becoming an attorney, he was an instrumental music teacher at Holyoke Magnet Middle School for the Arts in 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College and a Juris Doctor from Western New England University School of Law.