STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION officials dealt a major blow to a voter-approved Massachusetts law boosting access to motor vehicle telematic data, warning that the measure on the state’s books “poses significant safety concerns.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday effectively told major automobile manufacturers not to comply with the state’s “right […]
Courts
Posted inCourts
Cypher stepping down from SJC, giving Healey a pick
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SUPREME JUDICIAL Court Justice Elspeth Cypher plans to step down in January, giving Gov. Maura Healey a chance to appoint someone to the state’s highest court early in her first term. The SJC announced Monday that Cypher, who turned 64 in February, will retire from the court on Jan. 12, 2024 […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawsuit alleges racial discrimination in tenant screening tool
Two Black women from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC judges pose dismissal of 27,000 tainted drunk driving convictions
THERE IS NO QUESTION that for years, state breathalyzer tests were not certified correctly, and Massachusetts’ Office of Alcohol Testing acted egregiously when it withheld evidence about failed calibrations of breathalyzers. But what happens to all those drunk driving cases where breathalyzer evidence was used? The Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a […]
Posted inThe Download
Judiciary seeks to join modern era with $164m bond bill
When I recently sought a public document from a state court, the clerk asked me to request it by fax. In 2022, who operates via fax? Reporters are not alone in their woes with the court’s antiquated technology. Many courthouses do not have wi-fi, even for employees who move between their desks and a courtroom. […]
Posted inCourts
Judiciary seeks to join modern era with $164m bond bill
WHEN I RECENTLY sought a public document from a state court, the clerk asked me to request it by fax. In 2022, who operates via fax? Reporters are not alone in their woes with the court’s antiquated technology. Many courthouses do not have wi-fi, even for employees who move between their desks and a courtroom. […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
After three decades behind bars, man released because racism tainted his murder trial
AFTER SPENDING 31 years in prison for murder, Corey Glover walked out of MCI-Norfolk a free man on May 4, after arguing successfully that a juror’s racism prevented him from getting a fair trial. “I’m not bitter, I’m better,” Glover, now 51 years old, says in an hour-long interview over Zoom. But talk to Glover […]
Posted inCourts, Marijuana
Attorney accused of bribery in seeking Medford marijuana license
SOMERVILLE ATTORNEY Sean O’Donovan was arrested Friday and charged with trying to bribe a family member of the Medford police chief to convince the chief to help a marijuana company he represented obtain a license. The marijuana company, which was not named in the indictment but which CommonWealth confirmed is Theory Wellness, has not been […]
Posted inCourts, Education
SJC slams Harvard, but says university can keep slave photos
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL Court on Thursday revived a lawsuit brought by a woman who claims Harvard University caused her emotional distress when she sought information about and the return of nude photographs a Harvard professor took of her slave ancestors in 1850. Tamara Lanier sued Harvard seeking return of the photographs and payment of damages. […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Child Advocate says ‘system failed’ Harmony Montgomery
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the court system valued the rights of Harmony Montgomery’s parents more than Harmony’s wellbeing, according to a damning 101-page report issued Wednesday by the state Child Advocate Maria Mossaides. Harmony, a young girl who last lived with her father in New Hampshire, has been missing since 2019. Her […]