Massachusetts

Video of lawyer wearing his Elsa dress pushing police vehicle out of snow goes viral

Attorney Jonathan Triplett was saving his costume of Queen Elsa from Frozen for a snowy day. Boston provided one Tuesday, when a nor'easter dumped more than 14 inches of snow at Logan Airport.

Mar 15, 2018 2:30 PM CDT

Court Watch NYC volunteers sit in courtrooms to monitor how prosecutors use their discretion

After years of focusing efforts on private prisons, mandatory sentences and money bail, people trying to change the criminal justice system have identified another target: prosecutors. In an influential book last year, Fordham University professor John Pfaff argued prosecutors were the main driver behind the soaring U.S. incarceration rate—almost always unwatched and unopposed. Left-leaning philanthropist George Soros and the ACLU, among others, are recruiting and funding district attorney candidates who promise to curtail the use of the death penalty, expand diversion programs and stop prosecuting low-level crimes. There is even a new stab at a Progressive Prosecutor’s Handbook.

Feb 28, 2018 7:30 AM CST

Suit filed to block Trump’s proposed end of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans, Haitians

Citing racial motivations, advocates in Massachusetts are suing the Trump administration for ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from immigrants from El Salvador and Haiti. The complaint, brought by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice and Centro Presente, says the administration’s reasons for ending TPS status “are nothing…

Feb 22, 2018 1:17 PM CST

New US attorney issues apparent warning as Massachusetts prepares for legalized marijuana

The new U.S. attorney for Massachusetts appeared to indicate Monday that legal marijuana sellers in the state could face federal prosecution.

Jan 9, 2018 1:28 PM CST

Another lawsuit makes racketeering claims against state-legal marijuana business

Another lawsuit has been filed alleging Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims against a marijuana business, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

Dec 15, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Suit claims rival law firm copied billboard in effort to trick potential clients

A personal injury law firm in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit that contends a rival law firm copied the look of its billboard to cause confusion among potential clients. The suit by the Ellis Law Offices claims the rival billboard, created by the Law Offices of Joseph J. Cariglia and…

Nov 28, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Massachusetts crime lab withheld exculpatory evidence in DUI cases, report finds

The leader of a Massachusetts crime lab that certifies the reliability of drunken-driving breath tests has been fired after a report found the office routinely withheld exculpatory evidence from defense lawyers since 2011. Melissa O’Meara, who was technical leader of the Office of Alcohol Testing, was fired on Monday, report…

Oct 17, 2017 11:21 AM CDT

Former law student says he recanted racial profiling claim because of FBI pressure

A former University of Virginia law student says he recanted a claim that he had been racially profiled by university police officers in 2011 because he was pressured during an interrogation by the FBI. Johnathan Perkins is a black lawyer working in the general counsel’s office at Harvard University. He…

Oct 2, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

The legal education model is out of touch, writes new ABA commission member

Legal education is too complex, expensive and disconnected, and the American Bar Association has an “effective monopoly” on law school accreditation, according to Gillian Hadfield, a member of the organization’s Commission on the Future of Legal Education. Hadfield, a professor of law and economics at the University of Southern California,…

Sep 21, 2017 2:15 PM CDT

JDs from middle-ranked schools in states with many public colleges may give best investment return

Between 2010 and 2014, net tuition declined the most at middle-ranked law schools, due to merit scholarship patterns associated with maintaining or improving rankings, according to a law review article by Jerome M. Organ, which looks at variable returns on investing in a law degree.

Sep 15, 2017 3:35 PM CDT

Justice Sotomayor visits ‘Judge’s Chambers’ at Yankees game

A U.S. Supreme Court justice took time to cheer on a Judge. Sonia Sotomayor attended Thursday’s night’s game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Hill, CNN, the Daily News, and ESPN have stories. Sotomayor, a Bronx, New York, native and a die-hard…

Sep 1, 2017 1:45 PM CDT

Reduction in law school applications result in favorable upsides for some

Law school applications have dropped precipitously in the face of a weak job market and questions about the future for legal employment, according to U.S. News & World Report, though applicants have gained leverage in negotiating scholarships and financial aid. Another upside for those interested in going to law school…

Aug 10, 2017 10:08 AM CDT

Debt collection law firm pays $1M in restitution to settle state suit

The largest debt collection law firm in Massachusetts has agreed to pay $1 million and to change its practices to settle a lawsuit filed by the state. Lustig, Glaser & Wilson will pay the attorney general’s office for restitution to consumers, according to a press release by Massachusetts Attorney General…

Jul 28, 2017 10:50 AM CDT

Woman is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging boyfriend’s suicide with texts

A Massachusetts judge has found a woman guilty of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide and then failing to tell him to stop as he carried out the act in July 2014 when they were both teenagers. Judge Lawrence Moniz convicted 20-year-old Michelle Carter on Friday for…

Jun 16, 2017 11:24 AM CDT

Judge cites common law doctrine in vacating Aaron’s Hernandez’s murder conviction

A Massachusetts judge on Tuesday vacated the murder conviction for former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez. Judge E. Susan Garsh said Massachusetts law required her to vacate the 2015 conviction because Hernandez’s appeal was pending when he died in a suicide, report The Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal…

May 9, 2017 12:18 PM CDT