The woman accused of posing as a Boston student appeared briefly in court on Thursday morning.
Thirty-two-year-old Shelby Hewitt is accused of enrolling in three Boston high schools from 2021-2023 -- all while working for the state Department of Children and Families. She was arrested in June of 2023 and is now facing forgery and fraud charges.
Hewitt has pleaded not guilty and her lawyer says she has a history of mental illness.
Her case was scheduled for a lobby conference in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday morning, and she appeared in court with her lawyer, who immediately requested a sidebar with the judge.
Hewitt sat quietly in court, visibly shaking, as the lawyers and the judge spoke in private.
After just a few minutes, the judge said the hearing had been continued for one day, with Hewitt scheduled to return to court at 9 a.m. on Friday. That hearing was later taken off the case list for Friday.
Prosecutors said the continuance was to see if the case could potentially be resolved by a plea deal. They said the two sides are working on trying to reach a plea in the next few weeks, but it is unlikely to happen by Friday.
Hewitt refused comment as she left court Thursday.
