WITH ONLY DAYS left in this legislative session, plenty of lawmaking remains to be done. And even after the session ends, there will still be work left to do. One […]
Margaret Monsell
Posted inCriminal Justice
For casino job hunters, good news and bad
SOME GOOD NEWS recently for the MGM casino in Springfield and for folks hoping to land jobs there: The casino now has more discretion to handle criminal background checks for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Debating immigration policy on Beacon Hill
IMMIGRATION REFORM isn’t part of the criminal justice reform bill House members will begin debating today, but Republican lawmakers want it to be. Maybe they’re right and it should be […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker opens a legal can of worms
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER filed new legislation last month to battle the opioid crisis. His bill proposes some “important updates” to our arsenal of weapons in this fight, one of which, he […]
Posted inGambling
Convictions shouldn’t preclude all casino jobs
THE MGM SPRINGFIELD CASINO is scheduled to open late next year, and casino managers are worrying about how they’ll fill all the jobs that will need filling. The big problem: […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
Solution to domestic violence homicide: Fewer guns or more guns?
SINCE 2012, THERE have been 82 domestic violence homicides in Massachusetts, many involving the use of a gun. What’s to be done about these tragedies? The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
District attorneys abuse mandatory minimum drug sentences
AS LAST MONTH’S MassINC poll reports, two-thirds of Massachusetts residents believe that drug use should be treated as a health problem rather than as a crime. And only 8 percent […]