Coming Together for Change; Coming Together To Remember
by Radha Natarajan Viewpoint The sudden loss of Chief Justice Ralph Gants shook this community, even in a year when we faced a deluge of losses. The number of people affected by the news and the...
View ArticleChief Justice Gants and the Power of Concurrence
by Tad Heuer Legal Analysis Judges are often remembered for either their landmark opinions or their incisive dissents, and Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote both. But over his twelve terms on the Supreme...
View ArticleClerks’ Remembrances
Appreciation of Chief Justice Gants by Abrisham Eshghi Viewpoint “Imagine a world.” Some of the Chief’s greatest questions began with these three words. Sometimes, they prefaced a thought-provoking...
View ArticleTruth and Justice with Capital Letters
by Hon. Margaret H. Marshall and Marina Pullerits Voice of the Judiciary Human reason is beautiful and invincible.No bars, no barbed wire, no pulping of books,No sentence of banishment can prevail...
View ArticleThe Chief’s Challenge
by Martin Murphy President’s Page Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants’ death on September 14 left a gaping hole in the fabric of the Massachusetts legal community. For many lawyers—myself included—the news we...
View ArticleCreating Courts Where All Are Truly Equal
by Ralph D. Gants, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, and Paula M. Carey, Chief Justice of the Trial Court Voice of the Judiciary View and share the pdf version of the article here....
View ArticleLearning from Omar: The Case for Public Funding of Postconviction Innocence...
by Sharon L. Beckman Viewpoint In 2020, the Boston College Innocence Program secured the exoneration of clients Frances Choy and Ronnie Qualls and the release of a third client pending further...
View ArticleThree Years or You’re Out: SJC Limits MassHealth Estate Recovery Claims
by Meredith A. Fine Case Focus In In the Matter of the Estate of Kendall, 486 Mass. 522 (2020) (“Kendall”), the Supreme Judicial Court (“’SJC”) held that MassHealth has three years from a beneficiary’s...
View ArticleCOVID-19 Vaccinations: Thoughts for Employers
by Richard D. Glovsky and Kimberly F. Williams Practice Tips As the COVID-19 vaccination becomes more readily available, many employers are considering whether to require that employees be vaccinated....
View ArticleGrand Jury Service: Observations From a Criminal Lawyer
by Jack W. Pirozzolo Viewpoint About the last thing I ever expected was that I would end up serving on a grand jury. I am currently an attorney in private practice at a large firm, where much of my...
View ArticleOne Year Later: Massachusetts’ COVID-19 Tolling Orders in Civil Cases
by Christian B.W. Stephens and Elizabeth S. Dillon Heads Up On March 17, 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the SJC) issued the first of several orders tolling civil statutes of...
View ArticleWarrant-Based Searches Do Not Override Statutory Consent Requirement for OUI...
by Emma Quinn-Judge Case Focus A licensed driver who uses the public roadways in Massachusetts has agreed—implicitly—to submit to blood alcohol testing (BAC) or a breathalyzer test if arrested for...
View ArticleStudents For Fair Admissions v. Harvard: Affirmative Action, Race-Based...
by Natasha Varyani Viewpoint In November 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the district court’s finding that Harvard University’s admissions policy comports with the law...
View ArticlePractice Tips for Navigating the Disciplinary Investigation Process Before...
by Heather LaVigne Practice Tips Introduction Massachusetts attorneys may find themselves involved in disciplinary investigations conducted by the Office of Bar Counsel, and disciplinary proceedings...
View ArticleWhen Everything Slowed Down: Evaluating the Right to Speedy Trial in a Pandemic
by Hon. David A. Deakin and Hon. Janet L. Sanders Legal Analysis The COVID-19 pandemic has halted jury trials in Massachusetts state courts since March 13, 2020. The inability to set a reliable trial...
View ArticleTown of Sudbury v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
by Jessica G. Kelly Case Focus The long-standing “prior public use doctrine”—a common law doctrine which arose in the 1800s—states that “public lands devoted to one public use cannot be diverted to...
View ArticleWho Can Bring A Zoning Appeal? SJC Reaffirms the Test for Standing in...
by Adam Sherwin Case Focus The Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision in Murchison v. Sherborn Zoning Board of Appeals, 485 Mass. 209 (2020), last year, concerning the test of standing for a G.L....
View ArticleABA Formal Opinion 497
by Jeffrey D. Woolf and Martin Newhouse Legal Analysis On February 10, 2021, the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association (ABA) issued Formal Opinion...
View ArticleEnforceability of Online Contracts under Massachusetts Law: Kauders v. Uber...
by Kevin J. Conroy Case Focus Earlier this year, in Kauders v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 486 Mass. 557 (2021), the Supreme Judicial Court provided further clarity on an issue likely to impact every...
View ArticleRethinking Batson-Soares
by Brian A. Wilson Legal Analysis As the American trial by jury system approaches its 400th year, unlawful discrimination in the selection of jurors remains a pressing issue. The peremptory...
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