Surely not even EBIII is on board with Representative O'Flaherty's proposal to transfer the Chelsea District Court from the District Court to the Boston Municipal Court. The Globe suggests Rep. O'Flaherty is seeking to make the move over … [Read more...]
What the GITMO Files Reveal About State Secrecy
by Kade Crockford As researcher Darryl Li points out, most of the Wikileaks Gitmo dump consists of US intelligence “’detainee assessments’ that reveal more about the inner fantasy world of the US intelligence apparatus than who the … [Read more...]
How to cut costs without costing anything
It's time to get creative in finding ways to cut expenditures. One obvious place that doesn't seem to have been looked at is the criminal code. Property crimes are divided into misdemeanors and felonies primarily by dollar … [Read more...]
Governor’s Chief Legal Counsel writes to Mass Lawyer’s Weekly – and AmberPaw comments
First, the courts are the major protection of liberty, and of the rights of minorities of all varieties against the tyranny of the majority. Without an independent judiciary, same sex marriage would not be the law in our State, for … [Read more...]
Dear DSS: Adoption is no cure-all – especially when the system is BROKEN
In 2001, I was assigned by a judge to represent two girls, ages 8 and 10. The parental rights of their mother and father were terminated - in New York. New York sent these girls across state lines to be adopted at ages 2 and … [Read more...]
ICE agents trolling in District Courts – WARNING
I consider this very serious development. This could impact access to justice. Women could be afraid to file restraining orders. Witnesses and victimes alike could become afraid to testify. This has not hit the press … [Read more...]
Trial Court issues report on Reforming the Small Claims system – asks for comments
The Boston Globe did a special expose, called "Debtor's Hell", dated July 20, 2007 which is now archived.Here is an excerpt:She had reason to be stunned: The debt was at least five years old. And she'd never gotten notice of the lawsuit … [Read more...]
New Chief Justice sought for Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts
Nomination Sought for Position of Chief Justice of the Probate and Family CourtChief Justice Dunphy of the Probate and Family Court is retiring on September 28, 2007.Robert Mulligan, the Chief Justice for Administration and Management … [Read more...]
Patrick asks Department Heads to provide plans for Cuts
2. Our roads and bridges are crunmbling around us.3. Our higher education system is so poorly funded, we are 47th in the nation and one of only two states with no public law school [I say this as a Michigan native where … [Read more...]
Why isn’t there a working group in the Patrick/Murray Transition Team on Administration of Justice?
There really does need to be a "working group" on Administration of Justice. Why:Well, for starters, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the ONLY state where there is a separate line item for each court. What happens is if the … [Read more...]