And I requested the addition of "access to justice" as one of the areas of the Democratic Platform. Without access to the courts to enforce rights, or be protected against state action, no citizen has any rights at all. I note that … [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...]
SJC issues case expanding civil right to counsel – TODAY
Here is the slip opinion which issued, today: Term NOTICE: The slip opinions and orders posted on this Web site are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. … [Read more...]
Rosemary Cooper, heroic bar advocate and great grandmother dies on January 22, 2008
I wrote the following poem, remembering the sea in her eys and the ocean winds in her hair: By the Shore (After Teasdales' "On the Dunes", for Rosemary) If there is any life when death is over, The Newport Shore will know much of … [Read more...]
Bar Advocate stalled back pay passed tonight!
The House and Senate passed a Supplemental Budget tonight. It contains the money to pay invoices submitted by court appointed attorneys, some times called "bar advocates" for work done between 4/1/07 and 6/30/07, timely billed, and … [Read more...]
Tuesday could be the day for those 2371 unpaid court-appointed attorneys!
As for me, I cannot take another day off from my work in my own office. I have no "W2 income" - if I do not work, I do not earn an income.If I do not get paid for the work I do, I cannot pay my bills. So although I do close my … [Read more...]
Request for HELP from the Blue Mass Group Community
1. Call Speaker DiMasi's office at 617 722 2500 and request that supplemental funding for line item 0321-1510 be passed TODAY.2. Call House Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo at 617 722 2990 and request that supplemental … [Read more...]
Attotneys for the indigent STILL unpaid for all work done 4/1/07-6/30/07
On Thursday, September 27, the Legislature will go back into formal session. On that date, a delegation from the Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorneys will be on Beacon Hill in an effort to secure passage of this … [Read more...]
Update on the Ohio Public Defender – remember him? He refused to go to trial unprepared.
Turns out Brian Jones was only three months out of law school - but he sure has "brass balls" if you ask me.John Wesley Hall, Jr., the President elect of the National Association of Defense Lawyers (NACDL)testified as an expert witness on … [Read more...]
The Lynn Item covers the continuing failure to pay court-appointed attorneys
To quote the secretary of the Essex County Bar Assn.:Members of the Essex County Bar Association Advocates in Salem remain similarly perplexed.?Our members have a contract with the state, which insures them at all times, and states they … [Read more...]