A MIDDLESEX SUPERIOR COURT judge on Friday declined to issue a restraining order sought by Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons against state Sen. Jamie Eldridge. Lyons wanted to keep Eldridge away from volunteers who were collecting signatures for a referendum to overturn a law granting driver’s licenses to immigrants without legal status. Michael […]
Courts
Posted inBallot Questions, Courts, Health Care, Opinion
Why the Kansas ballot question on abortion matters
MANY PEOPLE ACROSS the United States are devastated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, which overturned a half century of precedent and abolished the federal constitutional right to abortion. For years, many activists have channeled that despair into fighting for change at the federal level, for instance, by pressing Congress to pass laws that […]
Posted inCourts, Drugs, Guns, Marijuana, State Government
Here’s what passed in marathon all-night legislative session
IN A MARATHON all night session, the Massachusetts Legislature finally finished many of their key priorities of the 2021-2022 legislative session, even as one key priority – tax reform – remained undone. They passed bills on equity in the cannabis industry, legalizing sports betting, and tightening gun licensing laws in the wake of a Supreme […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC rules consent required for blood alcohol test
THE POLICE CANNOT test a person’s blood to determine blood alcohol content without that person’s consent, even if the person authorized the blood draw itself, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday. It is well-established law that the police cannot order a blood test without a person’s consent, in order to protect the safety of both […]
Posted inCourts
Biden nominates reproductive rights lawyer Julie Rikelman as federal appeals court judge
PRESIDENT BIDEN will nominate prominent reproductive rights attorney Julie Rikelman, who argued in favor of abortion rights before the US Supreme Court in the Dobbs case, to be a US Appeals Court judge for the First Circuit, which includes Massachusetts. The White House announced the nomination Friday. Rikelman has worked since 2011 as the United […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Courts
SJC quickly dismisses lawsuit over dental ballot question
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL Court quickly dismissed a lawsuit brought by opponents of a ballot question regulating dental insurance that sought to change the ballot question summary submitted by proponents. With a deadline looming this week for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to begin printing the information book that is sent to voters, the court […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker won’t sign no-cost prison calls without dangerousness bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is making another go at passing elements of his criminal dangerousness bill, this time with a bit of high-stakes legislative horse trading. Baker, in signing the fiscal 2023 budget on Thursday, refused to sign into law free phone calls for prison inmates and other prison reforms, instead returning those sections with an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ex-senator Tran sues Healey over criminal charges of stealing a constituent’s gun
FORMER STATE SENATOR Dean Tran, who was indicted earlier this month on charges that he stole a gun from an elderly constituent, filed suit in federal court on Wednesday against Attorney General Maura Healey, alleging that the case against him is a politically motivated move by a partisan Democratic political figure. Tran is a Republican […]
Posted inEconomy
SJC sides with Grubhub, allows arbitration requirements for drivers
GRUBHUB MAY REQUIRE its drivers to submit employment disputes to arbitration, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday. The ruling essentially codifies the status quo. But because of its potentially broad implications for workers and businesses if the court ruled the other way, the case attracted national attention, pitting workers’ rights groups against businesses. Companies […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker’s dangerousness bill divides DA candidates
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S effort to bolster the state law allowing defendants to be held before trial has been shelved for now by lawmakers, who call it an unwarranted overreach, but the bill raises important questions about how the system should deal with those charged but not yet convicted of any crime. The state’s district attorneys […]