Michael J. Traft
Mr. Traft graduated from Suffolk University Law School and has been an attorney for 24 years. The focus of his career has been in appellate litigation. He is one of the most experienced appellate attorneys in Massachusetts and has represented hundreds of clients in appeal cases in the highest courts of Massachusetts and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Traft is also a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court.
He has been involved in a wide variety of criminal and civil appeals, from first degree murder cases to child support litigation. Unlike most other appellate lawyers, he also has had extensive trial experience, particularly in the area of family and civil practice. Mr. Traft has tried cases in every trial court in Massachusetts and the United States District Court of Massachusetts.
Mr. Traft began his career as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County and served as the Director of the Appellate Division from 1979 to 1985. Since 1994, he has served as a member of the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission and since 1999, he has been a member of the executive board of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions. In addition to his participation as a speaker in seminars and in national conferences on sentencing issues, he is the co-author of a chapter in the MCLE publication, Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Jury Instructions, and the author of two chapters in MCLE’s Appellate Practice in Massachusetts.
Mr. Traft was honored to have been involved in two of the ten cases selected recently by Lawyers Weekly as the most significant opinions issued by the Supreme Judicial Court in the past year: Youmans v. Ramos, the case which approved visitation rights for non-parents, and Shine v. Vega, the case which reaffirmed a patient’s right to control the course of medical treatment, even in an emergency situation. He has been successful in the recent cases of Commonwealth v. Sheriff, Department of Revenue v. Foss, and Proctor v. North Shore.
Mr. Traft’s background combines practical trial experience with quality legal analysis and research and writing capability necessary for effective appellate advocacy.
For frequently asked questions about appellate practice click here.
To contact Mr. Traft please e-mail him at mtraft@CarneyBassil.com
