Gelfgatt, Jones, and the Future of Compelled Decryption
by Eric A. Haskell Legal Analysis As great quantities of data have come to repose in electronic devices, obtaining access to the content of those devices has come to be greatly important to law...
View ArticleCan Law Enforcement Officers Commit Any Crime While Off-Duty and Retain Their...
by Michael Sacco Case Focus In a unanimous decision in two companion cases, Essex Regional Retirement Board v. Swallow and State Board of Retirement v. O’Hare, 481 Mass. 241 (2019) (Swallow/O’Hare),...
View ArticleMassachusetts Expands Voter Access
by Pratt Wiley Heads Up The Automatic Voter Registration Act (“AVR Act”), St. 2018, c. 205, signed into law in 2018 by Governor Baker, promises to expand the number of enrolled voters able to...
View ArticleBellalta: A Flowchart for the Owner of a Nonconforming Home
by Kate M. Carter Case Focus In Bellalta v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Brookline, 481 Mass. 372 (2019), the Supreme Judicial Court reaffirmed the process by which a preexisting, non-conforming single-...
View ArticleProbate and Family Court
by Hon. John D. Casey Voice of the Judiciary I have always considered it an honor to be a part of the Probate and Family Court, first as a practicing attorney, and then as a judge. Now as Chief...
View ArticleCommonwealth v. Rosa: The Appeals Court Elaborates the Massachusetts Law on...
by David Deakin Case Focus In Commonwealth v. Rosa, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 458 (2018), further app. rev. denied, 481 Mass. 1104 (Jan. 24, 2019), a case about the parental privilege to use corporal...
View ArticleUnderstanding When Competitive Bidding Applies to Affordable Housing in...
by Lauren D. Song and Tyler Creighton Legal Analysis Anyone who owns, constructs, or finances a construction project involving public funds, public ownership, and/or public use must carefully consider...
View ArticleThe Cross-Examination of Complainants And the Due Process Rights of...
by R. Victoria Fuller Case Focus In Haidak v. University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the First Circuit Court of Appeals discussed the obligations of public colleges and universities under the Due Process...
View ArticleAdorable as Affordable?: The Zoning Challenge of Tiny Houses
by Olympia Bowker Viewpoint With Massachusetts’ housing affordability crisis showing no signs of abating, it imperative to consider new, creative solutions. A 2018 Boston Magazine analysis of over 150...
View ArticleShould it Stay or Should it Go?: Post-MUPC Probate Court Objections in the...
by Timothy F. Robertson, Esq. and Joseph N. Schneiderman, Esq. Practice Tips Introduction Since Massachusetts adopted the Model Uniform Probate Code, G.L. c. 190B (MUPC) in 2012, few cases have...
View ArticleThe Importance of Written Information Security Policies in Data Governance
by Christopher E. Hart Legal Analysis A critical component of data governance is the written information security program or policy, or “WISP” for short. WISPs are important for three reasons: first,...
View ArticleRecent Developments in Regulatory Takings
by Jason (“Jay”) Talerman Case Focus Massachusetts is a home rule state, with 351 cities and towns governed by 351 different sets of bylaws and regulations. For a prospective developer of land, that...
View ArticleThe Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination: Steady in the Storm
by Simone R. Liebman Legal Analysis Introduction In October, the Supreme Court of the United States heard argument in three cases that involve an unconventional division between the U.S. Department of...
View ArticleWhere a Lawyer Makes All the Difference – And Only One Side Has One: Adjartey...
by Esme Caramello, Joel Feldman, and Geraldine Gruvis-Pizarro The Profession Each week, more than 750 tenants across Massachusetts face eviction in the courts of the Commonwealth. While the vast...
View ArticleMassachusetts Wage and Hour Laws Apply to Au Pairs
by Andrea Peraner-Sweet and Lauren D. Song Heads Up On December 2, 2019, in Capron v. Attorney General of Massachusetts, 944 F.3d 9 (2019) (“Capron”), the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that...
View ArticleReid v. City of Boston: Extending the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act’s...
by Andrew Gambaccini Case Focus The Legislature enacted the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act (“MTCA”), G.L. c. 258, §§ 1 et seq., to replace a crazy quilt of judicially created exceptions to governmental...
View ArticleAfter Goodridge: the Potential of Equal Protection Challenges Under the...
by Steven E. Gurdin and Kelly A. Schwartz Legal Analysis Massachusetts courts apply an enhanced version of rational basis review where regulations infringe on non-economic, personal interests.[1] In...
View ArticleBoston Housing Authority v. Y.A., 482 Mass. 240 (2019): SJC Clarifies VAWA...
by Julia Devanthery, Dan Daley, and Lisabeth Jorgensen Case Focus Boston Housing Authority v. Y.A., 482 Mass. 240 (2019), is the most recent guidance from the Supreme Judicial Court concerning the...
View ArticleSJC Addresses the Enforceability of Settlements Entered Without Insurers’...
by Austin Moody Case Analysis The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently issued an important decision addressing three issues that can arise in the fairly common scenario in which an...
View ArticleBoston’s Way Forward on Housing
by City Councilor Lydia M. Edwards Viewpoint Boston’s economy is thriving. Why then are so many residents of the City and Commonwealth struggling to find and afford housing, remain in the communities...
View Article