The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has a closely watched file locked away, and New Bedford is at the center of it. On Thursday, the SJC received a sealed report from a special master who investigated anonymous allegations that a former New Bedford District Court judge had an affair with a Bristol County prosecutor. The confidential document was front and center at a public status hearing, as the court considers whether any criminal convictions might be tainted. The scrutiny is intense because the judge and prosecutor handled a large number of overlapping cases together.
According to the Boston Herald, Special Master Ernest Sarason (ret.) concluded that Judge Douglas Darnbrough and Assistant District Attorney Karlyn Butler "did not engage in a romantic, emotional, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate relationship." The Herald reports that Sarason reached that determination after reviewing witness testimony and documents collected during the probe.
How the probe began
The case did not start in a courtroom. It began with anonymous letters that circulated in late 2023, accusing the judge and prosecutor of misconduct and prompting a confidential internal Trial Court investigation, according to The New Bedford Light. In May 2025 the SJC tapped Sarason as special master and gave him authority to subpoena witnesses and dig into internal records. His impounded report was later sent to Justice Serge Georges Jr. for review.
The potential ripple effect is massive. The Committee for Public Counsel Services initially flagged roughly 3,700 dockets in which Darnbrough and Butler both appeared, a number that has fueled demands for transparency and talk of possible retrials, WBUR reports. Defense attorneys caution that if any misconduct were ever confirmed, some defendants could claim a right to new proceedings or other legal remedies.
At Thursday's status hearing, Justice Georges acknowledged receiving Sarason's impounded report and, according to the Boston Herald, gave the parties 60 days to propose redactions before any additional materials are made public. For now, access is tightly controlled, limited to a small group of lawyers who will examine the confidential packet under protective orders.
Public court filings indicate that the special master’s record includes the anonymous notes, witness statements, and subpoenas issued during the inquiry, although the full report is still sealed from public view, The New Bedford Light reports. Those materials were submitted in support of ongoing appeals by men convicted in cases where Darnbrough presided and Butler prosecuted.
Legal implications
Legal observers say the SJC's decisions about what to disclose will heavily influence whether cases tied to the two officials are reopened, with potential outcomes that range from targeted retrials to broader vacaturs, according to reporting by Reuters via Minnesota Lawyer. Any step toward unsealing more of the special master's file could spur a wave of new motions from defendants seeking relief.
What happens next
The 60-day period for proposed redactions sets the clock. During that time, lawyers can argue over what, if anything, the public should see, and the SJC could stage additional hearings to sort out disputes over disclosure, WBUR reports. Advocates on all sides say they are watching closely to see whether the court's handling of the sealed record triggers fresh litigation or leaves past convictions untouched.
For now, Sarason's report remains under lock and key, and the SJC is moving carefully as it tries to balance transparency, privacy, and the integrity of court records. Over the coming weeks, the parties will use the redaction process to battle over what becomes public and whether the court's findings ultimately reshape the legal landscape for defendants whose cases ran through that New Bedford courtroom.
