Justices were wary of overstepping the “separation of powers” in a bid for courts to increase pay for attorneys who represent indigent defendants.
Judiciary
Posted inOpinion
Our judges should reflect the breadth of the legal profession
Attorneys with backgrounds in corporate law or as prosecutors are so overrepresented in Massachusetts courts it should set off alarm bells for anybody who believes in the promise of equal justice in the Commonwealth.Â
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC suspends judge for inappropriate touching
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Wednesday suspended Judge Paul Sushchyk without pay indefinitely after finding that Sushchyk grabbed the butt of a court employee at a court-sponsored event, then lied […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker nominating first Latina to SJC
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S latest nominee to the Supreme Judicial Court is an Appeals Court judge with a background in intellectual property litigation who built a robot while studying […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC: Blind people can serve as jurors
IF A BLIND JUROR is called for jury duty, a judge must decide on a case-by-case basis whether that juror is capable of serving, according to a unanimous decision issued […]
Posted inOpinion
Bump follows lead of DAs
STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP has joined the debate over the legal status of the advisory sentencing guidelines that the state’s Sentencing Commission issued two years ago. Her audit of the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bump weighs in on sentencing guideline dispute
STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP released an audit on Thursday that concluded draft sentencing guidelines are being used by judges across the state even though the guidelines have never been enacted […]
Posted inThe Download
In his own image
Choosing justices for the state’s highest court is one of the most overlooked aspects of a governor’s powers, but is one that could now impact a generation or more. With […]
Posted inUncategorized
State courts revamp their website
THE STATE’S TRIAL COURT has upgraded its outmoded computer system to allow lawyers to electronically file case records and to allow judicial decisions to be shared automatically with other government […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
What’s new in the state court system
What follows is the state of the judiciary address of Ralph D. Gants, the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, on Tuesday. Introductory comments were edited out. In […]