Mass. Supreme Judicial Court to hear appeal for documentary Broken

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court to Hear LCMedia's Request for Impounded Transcript of Harmony Montgomery Custody Case

Landmark Action for Documentary Seeks to Bring Sunlight to State's Closed and Secret Juvenile Court System  

The Mass. Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has agreed to hear arguments involving LCMedia's request for access to the impounded transcript of the custody hearing involving Harmony Montgomery, the 5-year-old girl whose murder made headlines around the world after the court gave custody to her father despite his violent criminal history. 

LCMedia brought the landmark action for Broken, its documentary film in production, which follows reporter Brooke Lewitas’ 2-year investigation of the state’s failed child protection, foster care, and juvenile court systems -- set against child welfare nationally. 

In the wake of Harmony’s death, there has been a sustained public outcry to know how the Essex County Juvenile Court made the custody decision, including requests from lawmakers and even Gov. Chris Sununu, of New Hampshire, the state where Harmony was murdered.

However, due to the absolute secrecy surrounding such care and protection cases in the Mass. Juvenile Court system, no answers have surfaced except a report from the state’s Child Advocate, which offered limited facts but was critical of the handling of the case by all parties, including the Mass. Department of Children and Families (DCF). 

LCMedia Productions and Peabody Award-winning producer Bill Lichtenstein filed a Motion with the Essex County Juvenile Court seeking the impounded audio tape of the custody hearing to learn what happened for the documentary. 

LCMedia's request was denied by the Essex County Juvenile Court, but LCMedia appealed the decision to the state Court of Appeals.  On May 1, 2024, the Mass. SJC announced the case would go directly to the Supreme Judicial Court (the state's highest appellate court) for oral arguments and a decision, bypassing the state Appellate Court. 

The matter comes in the wake of two previous landmark Juvenile Court decisions providing LCMedia access to the secret juvenile court hearing in the widely publicized Sabey family case, which involved the removal by the state of two young children from a family home in Waltham, MA in the middle of the night for what turned out to be without cause. The documentary team was permitted to film and then granted access to the audio tape from the fall 2022 secret care and protection case, making Lichtenstein and Lewitas the first journalists to be given access to an impounded juvenile court care and protection proceeding in the state.  

“We’re thrilled that the state Supreme Judicial Court has agreed to hear this case,” said Lichtenstein. “The secrecy that surrounds the child protection and foster care systems in Massachusetts makes it impossible to have any accountability for horrible systems failures as in the case of Harmony Montgomery.”

“Beyond seeking answers to what led to the death of this 5-year-old girl, who was in the custody of the state to keep her safe, it’s critical to understand how the system failed to prevent similar tragedies from occurring,” said Brooke Lewitas, the journalist whose two years of investigating the state’s embattled child care and protection system is the subject of the documentary.  

Attorney Jennifer Lamanna is representing LCMedia in the action and said “There's so much at stake here. The severe restriction on information from the juvenile court hinders transparency and accountability in the Massachusetts child welfare system. There's a crucial need to open this system up, especially in cases like this where the death of a child has occurred and the complete record should be accessible. The stakes are high for the entire system of juvenile court care and protection matters.

Judge Jay Blitzman is a former first justice of the Mass. Juvenile Court and an advisor to the documentary.  “An important form of participation in government is observing court proceedings to inform the public.  Ultimately, an open court system allows for a more informed citizenry, promotes due process and systemic accountability.”

Broken is slated to premiere in late 2024 with a festival and theatrical release and a public television broadcast. Concurrent with the film will be a national community and educational outreach and engagement campaign. Selections from the film were screened as a “Work in Progress” at the Social Impact Film Festival in Boston, and the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, and was screened by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy in Tulsa, OK on May 10.

For more about the film visit Brokenthefilm.org. Donations to support this non-profit production can be made at Fundbroken.com