BOSTON (WWLP) – The state’s highest court will review a Hampden County judge’s decision to dismiss criminal charges against the former superintendent and medical director of the Holyoke Soldiers Home.

The office of Attorney General Maura Healey confirmed for 22News that the Supreme Judicial Court has accepted her office’s request for direct appellate review in the case of Bennett Walsh and Dr. David Clinton. That means the appeal will now be heard directly by the high court, rather than first going through an appellate court.

In November of 2021, a Hampden Superior Court judge dismissed charges of criminal neglect against Walsh and Clinton in connection to their roles in the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. The judge had said there was not enough evidence that the defendant’s actions amounted to a crime.

While a prosecutor cannot appeal a not guilty verdict, prosecutors are able to appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss charges before a case goes to trial.