Mary Elizabeth Heffernan is an American attorney, judge, and former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety.

[1] She is a member of the Framingham State University Board of Trustees.

[1] In the private sector, Heffernan served as the Associate General Counsel and Director of Intergovernmental and Regulatory Affairs at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and as the Corporate Director of Government Relations for CareGroup Health Care System.

[4] Soon after her appointment as a Newton District Court judge, she released a suspected rapist – who was in the country illegally and had previously deported – on $2,500 bail despite a request by the district attorney for a much higher bail of $100,000 and despite knowing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was preparing a detainer for the suspect.

In addition prosecutors during the hearing informed Judge Heffernan that the suspect was well known to them as a gang member in the city and was a very high flight risk.