In an hour-long hearing this morning before SJC Justice Francis Spina, lawyers for the Governor, Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew Amorello, and Authority board members Connaughton, Trimarco, and Pagliuca squared off on two issues: whether the Governor should be allowed to proceed with tomorrow’s scheduled “personnel hearing” in which the Governor will decide whether Amorello should be “de-designated” as chairman (anyone laying odds on what Romney will decide?), and whether Amorello’s recent changes to the Authority’s by-laws are invalid such that he should be forced to call a meeting of the Turnpike board before September.
Justice Spina remained extraordinarily impassive throughout the arguments, asking only a few questions and, I suspect, doing his very best not to tip his hand as to how he was leaning in either case. At the end of the arguments, he announced that he was taking both cases under advisement, and that he would accept supplemental submissions from the lawyers until 1 p.m. today, suggesting that he intends to issue some sort of ruling by the end of the day.
My guess: Justice Spina will issue a ruling by 5 p.m. today in which he either allows or denies the motion to stop tomorrow’s hearing. He may well delay ruling on the case over the by-laws, since that is a less urgent matter. Eventually, all of these matters are going to wind up before the full SJC. I wouldn’t be surprised if he refers the by-laws case directly to the full court without first ruling himself, but time constraints will require him to act on the case about the Governor’s hearing.
Stay tuned…
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