Attorney Nathanson has specialized in criminal defense since 1997. He focuses on criminal appeals, primarily murder appeals. He has also provided representation in trial-level cases as minor as trespassing and as serious as double-murder. In 2005, he became the only staff public defender in the history of the Massachusetts public defender's office to win a case in the United States Supreme Court. The case is Smith v. Massachusetts, 543 U.S. 462 (2005). He left CPCS in 2007. Between 2019 and 2024, he successfully challenged five first-degree murder convictions. He has also won reversals in multiple cases over the years including cases involving charges of robbery, armed career criminal, felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearms, and cocaine distribution.
Attorney Nathanson is recognized among his peers as a knowledgeable resource on criminal law, appellate procedure, and federal habeas corpus practice. In addition to his own cases, he serves as an appellate mentor and statewide resource attorney for attorneys handling murder cases through the Committee for Public Counsel Services.
A signature quality of Attorney Nathanson’s practice is his dedication to his clients. That takes many forms. In some cases, it is pursuing justice for more than a decade, as he has done in several cases. In other cases, it means moving quickly to challenge a conviction or resolve a new charge.
He believes that every case is unique and rejects “cookie cutter” approaches to legal issues. As a result, cases that he litigated have resulted in changes in the law. His work was the basis for expanding what jurors must be told about the consequences of a not guilty verdict by reason of a lack of criminal responsibility (insanity) in murder cases. And with Attorney Jellison’s assistance, he successfully argued that LGBTQ jurors have an equal protection right not to be discriminated against in jury selection.
Attorney Nathanson is a 1996 graduate of Rutgers School of Law in Newark, New Jersey. He began as a solo practitioner and then a staff attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Since 2021, Attorney Nathanson has served as the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ representative on the Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Attorney Nathanson was named a Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Lawyer for 2005. He was named a Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2005 through 2011 and a Massachusetts Super Lawyer from 2013 through 2024.
LECTURES:
§ 33E Gatekeeper Petitions (with Attorney Afton Templin), Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division, March 21, 2024
Issues on the Horizon (with Attorney Claudia Bolgen), Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, November 29, 2023
Public Records Requests, Suffolk University Law School Innocence Clinic, November 8, 2023
Public Records Requests, Suffolk University Law School Innocence Clinic, October 19, 2022
Public Records Requests, Suffolk University Law School Innocence Clinic, October 20, 2021
Public Records Requests, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, February 25, 2021
Oral Argument Before the United States Supreme Court, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, December 14, 2020
Discovering Public Records, Committee for Public Counsel Services, August 13, 2020
Re-thinking Snitch Litigation (with Attorney Lisa Kavanaugh), Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, March 22, 2019
Life After Commonwealth v. Brown, Committee for Public Counsel Services, May 15, 2018
Practicing and Winning in the Highest Court in the Land, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, June 14, 2017
2016–2017 Year In Review: Cases from the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court, Suffolk Lawyers for Justice, June 1, 2017
Post-Conviction Discovery and Funds, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, March 24, 2017
Creative Research Tips, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, March 18, 2016
The Habeas One Year Clock, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, February 5, 2016
Advanced Post-Conviction Litigation, Petitions for Further Appellate Review, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, January 16, 2015
Prosecuting and Defending Homicide Cases, Beyond the Model Instructions, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, May 9, 2014
Habeas Corpus in the Federal Courts, Does the Denial of a Gatekeeper Petition by the SJC Bar Federal Review?, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, January 29, 2014
Litigating Motions for New Trial, Faculty Presenter, Committee for Public Counsel Services Innocence Program, June 21-22, 2013
Ethical Response of Trial Counsel to Claims of Ineffective Assistance, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Annual Conference, May 16, 2013
Habeas Corpus Petitions Under 28 USC § 2241, American Immigration Lawyers Association, March 1, 2013
Prosecuting and Defending Homicide Cases, Homicide Caselaw Update, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, May 21, 2012
Habeas Corpus in the Federal Courts, Overview, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, February 10, 2012
Issue Spotting in DNA Cases, Committee for Public Counsel Services, January 13, 2012
Interstate Rendition, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Annual Conference, May 19, 2011
Jury Skills, Session Leader, Committee for Public Counsel Services, April 8, 2011
Habeas Corpus in the Federal Courts, Overview, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, February 28, 2011
Investigating Exoneration Cases, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Annual Training Conference, May 20, 2010
Appellate 9-1-1: The Procedurally Troubled Appeal, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, April 15, 2010
Overview of a Habeas Corpus Case, Habeas Corpus in the Federal Courts, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, February 28, 2010
Habeas Corpus Seminar: Litigating Ineffective Assistance with an Eye Towards Habeas, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, February 5, 2010
Litigating Ineffective Assistance Claims, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Annual Training Conference, June 11, 2009
Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Update, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers CLE Program, June 19, 2009
Social Science Resources for Criminal Defense Counsel, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, May 28, 2009
Know Your Audience: Tailoring Your Message, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, April 15, 2009
Public Records Requests by Criminal Defense Counsel, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers CLE Program, May 15, 2008
Custodial Interrogation Under Miranda, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, April 18, 2009
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and the Attorney-Client Privilege: Proceed With Caution, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, November 2007
Petitions for Certiorari and Further Appellate Review, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers CLE Program, April 2007
The Habeas One-Year Clock, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers CLE Program, April 2006
Preserving Appellate Rights in the Trial Court, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Zealous Advocacy Training, February 2006
Post-Conviction Client Relations, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Post-Conviction Panel new lawyer training, recurring 2001-2007
Post-Conviction Sentencing Matters, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Post-Conviction Panel new lawyer training, recurring 2001-2007
Stays of Sentence Pending Appeal, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Post-Conviction Panel new lawyer training, recurring 2001-2007
PUBLICATIONS:
Casenote: Kyllo v. United States, 121 S.Ct. 2038 (2001), Mass Dissent (August, 2001)
Casenote: Hiibel v. District Court, 124 S. Ct. 2451 (2004), Mass Dissent (September, 2004)
Article: “Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and the Attorney-Client Privilege: Proceed With Caution”, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (November, 2007)
Chapter: “Postdecision Practice,” in Appellate Practice in Massachusetts (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2021)
BAR MEMBERSHIPS:
Massachusetts (1996); United States Supreme Court (2000); District of Massachusetts (2000); First Circuit Court of Appeals (2002).