MASSACHUSETTS STATE AUDITOR Diana DiZoglio recently called in to Boston Public Radio and accused Attorney General Andrea Campbell of “working with the legislative leaders to block the audit that the […]
Lawrence Friedman
Lawrence Friedman teaches constitutional law at New England Law | Boston and is the co-author of "The Oxford Commentary on the Massachusetts State Constitution. "
Posted inUncategorized
SJC was right on Baker’s emergency orders
AT THIS WRITING, many Massachusetts communities are imposing new mask rules to address the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, while public and private sector leaders are debating the merits of […]
Posted inOpinion
SJC got Baker emergency orders case right
THERE ARE AT least two important takeaways from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Desrosiers v. Governor, in which the court upheld Gov. Charlie Baker’s authority to issue emergency […]
Posted inOpinion
Challenge to Baker emergency powers likely to fail
A GROUP OF MASSACHUSETTS entrepreneurs, pastors, and an educator has mounted a court challenge to Gov. Charlie Baker’s authority to issue emergency orders to address the novel coronavirus in the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
In indigent defense case, precedent for strong SJC action
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, in Lavallee v. Justices in the Hampden Superior Court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed the shortage of attorneys available to represent indigent criminal defendants in Hampden […]
Posted inOpinion
Why Massachusetts was right to reject judicial term limits – again
The framers of the Massachusetts Constitution believed fair judicial decisions required that judges be removed from politics. And so the constitution provides that, after their nomination by the governor and […]
Posted inOpinion
Little buzz on ballot question with wide impact
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS FACE three ballot questions this November. Though Question 2 has received the least attention, it has the potential to affect every citizen of the Commonwealth—and, perhaps, the nation. […]