Andrea J. Cabral (born 1959) is an American lawyer and former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety and sheriff of

Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston, Chel ...

Background

Cabral is a native of

East Providence, Rhode Island East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,139 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest city in the state. Geography East Providence is located between the Providence and Seekonk ...

. She is a graduate of

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

(1981) with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree and

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...

where she earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree in 1986. Cabral began her legal career in 1986 as a staff attorney at the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department at the

Charles Street Jail The Charles Street Jail (built 1851), also known as the Suffolk County Jail, is an infamous former jail (later renovated into a luxury hotel) located at 215 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. It is listed in the state and national Registers o ...

, working to prepare and argue motions for bail reduction for the Suffolk Superior Court. Subsequently, she served as an

assistant district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

at the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office from 1987–1991. From 1991–1993, Cabral served in the Office of the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

including work in the Torts Division/Government Bureau and the Civil Rights/ Public Protection Bureau. Cabral then began work at the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in 1993 under then District Attorney Ralph C. Martin III. From 1993–1994, she was director of Roxbury District Court Family Violence Project. She became chief of the Domestic Violence Unit at the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in 1994. In 1998, Cabral was promoted to chief of District Courts and Community Prosecutions.

Eisenhower Fellowships Eisenhower Fellowships is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of prominent American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organiz ...

selected Andrea Cabral as a USA Eisenhower in 1997.

Sheriff of Suffolk County

In 2002, after the Stern Commission, headed by

Donald K. Stern Donald K. Stern is an American attorney who served as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts from 1993 to 2001. He was best known for prosecuting mob figures, including fugitive Winter Hill Gang The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of ...

, called for reform in the Sheriff's Department, she was appointed sheriff by Governor

Jane Swift Jane Maria Swift (born February 24, 1965) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2003 and, concurrently, as acting governor from April 2001 to January 2003. She wa ...

. Cabral won election in 2004 as the Sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and was the first female in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts history to hold the position.Meet Sheriff Cabral
, "Cabral for Sheriff" campaign website."Bio: Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral, J.D."
, Suffolk County Sheriff's Department website As Sheriff of Suffolk County, Cabral was responsible for the operation of the House of Correction, the Suffolk County Jail, the Suffolk County Women's Resource Center, the Suffolk County Community Corrections Center and the Civil Process Division. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department has more than 1,100 employees, being correctional officers,

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

professionals, caseworkers and administrative staff whose primary responsibility is upholding public safety and providing rehabilitative support for more than 2,500 offenders daily.

Immigration issues

In an August 13, 2010 letter to the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral noted a "staggering lack of communication and respect" from the federal agency.AP / Fox
"Sheriff Andrea Cabral says she'll rethink ICE deal"
, Fox Boston, Aug. 20, 2010. She told CNN Radio that if her concerns aren't addressed, ICE "would no longer be allowed to house federal detainees at the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. They would have to take them to a different facility." ICE is reviewing Cabral's letter and will offer a direct response to her concerns, said Harold Ort, a spokesman for the agency.Maria Sacchetti

''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', Aug. 19, 2010.

Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety

On December 12, 2012, she was named Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety by Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

. She later resigned as Sheriff in order to accept that post. In September 2014 it came to light due to a news story by Fox Boston TV News that Andrea Cabral as Secretary of Public Safety had issued an advisory letter to the Massachusetts Sheriffs. This advisory letter said sheriffs departments should not turn over suspects to the Immigration service who were in violation of United States immigration law. Cabral's letter said this was because the warrants are issued by a federal administrative worker not issued by a judge. Most of the sheriffs repudiated her suggestion and one of them released a notice through Fox they would continue to comply. On January 21, 2015 Governor Baker named Daniel Bennett as the new Secretary of the Executive Office for Public Safety and Security.

Publications

* "Obtaining, Enforcing and Defending x.209A Restraining Orders in Massachusetts" * "Same Gender Domestic Violence: Strategies for Change in Creating Courtroom Accessibility."

References

External links

* Rooney, Emily
"Interview with Andrea Cabral"
''Greater Boston'' show,

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's sec ...

, Boston, July 9, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabral, Andrea J. American women lawyers African-American women lawyers African-American lawyers African-American sheriffs African-American state cabinet secretaries Women sheriffs Sheriffs of Suffolk County, Massachusetts Massachusetts Secretaries of Public Safety American legal writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Suffolk University Law School alumni Boston College alumni 1959 births Living people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people Massachusetts sheriffs 20th-century African-American women