THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT decided on Tuesday not to rule on whether limits can be placed on individual campaign contributions to political action committees, putting those who favor limits in a difficult position. The Supreme Judicial Court considered an initiative petition proposed in 2022 that would place a $5,000-per-year cap on contributions from individuals to […]
Courts
Posted inCriminal Justice
AG Andrea Campbell picks her targets
ATTORNEY GENERAL Andrea Campbell has waded into some politically thorny topics so far, trying to balance an advocacy lens as “the people’s lawyer” with the practical demands of being “top cop.” A former city councilor and Boston mayoral hopeful whose legal background focused on education and employment, Campbell is about five months into the attorney […]
Posted inCourts, Government
SJC wades into face-off over online stock trading
IT’S A NICE THOUGHT that “broker-dealers” who handle transactions in the ever-changing world of online securities trading platforms should show a basic standard of care to clients, but that may not be Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s call to make. That’s the central issue at play in a case heard on Wednesday by the Supreme Judicial […]
Posted inCourts, Opinion, Politics, State Government
Isn’t winning by 1 vote enough?
IN LAST NOVEMBER’S election, Kristin Kassner, a candidate for state representative on the North Shore, flipped a seat from red to blue by a one-vote margin. But it didn’t come easily. Despite the will of the people being affirmed by a district-wide recount and court challenges to the election running their course, the Republican incumbent […]
Posted inCourts, Government
SJC says it’s OK to be ‘rude’ at public meetings
SPEAKERS AT public meetings can feel free to channel their inner revolutionaries now that the state’s highest court has ruled that Massachusetts law protects the right to be “rude, personal, and disrespectful to public figures.” It’s part of our national heritage to be insolent when objecting to the workings of government, “as the colonists eventually […]
Posted inCourts
SJC to weigh wrongful death restrictions in cigarette suits
IT’S THE nightmare scenario. After years of long-term cigarette addiction, a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. Years of chemotherapy, surgeries, attempts at quitting and relapses, and bone-deep exhaustion follow. Meanwhile, the statute of limitations to bring a personal injury lawsuit against the tobacco company ticks down, then passes. Eventually, the patient does, too. The patient’s […]
Posted inCourts, Opinion, State Government
The state child welfare system needs an overhaul, not more Band-Aids
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES is broken, and as public defenders faced with the deficiencies of this system every day, we hope Gov. Maura Healey will make it a priority to fix it. The cases of David Almond and Harmony Montgomery have shined a bright light on DCF, but thousands of other children are […]
Posted inCourts, State House News Service
Budd urges more increases in state legal aid
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE TOP STATE judge in Massachusetts wants lawmakers to make more funding available for low-income Bay Staters to get legal representation in civil matters, warning that recent investments still have not done enough to ensure access for those in need. At an annual event highlighting the civil legal aid system, Supreme Judicial […]
Posted inCourts, Government
Prohibition on ARPA ‘tax cuts’ declared unconstitutional
TWO RECENT COURT decisions indicate even the US government has limited influence over how states spend their money. The traditional way the federal government gains leverage over state policies is by using carrots – offering additional federal money, for example, if a state adopts a certain type of program or passes a specific kind of […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawsuit alleges racial discrimination in tenant screening tool
Two Black women from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing […]