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Ecosystems, such as lakes, valleys, and forests, are treated by the courts, for the most part, in the same way that animals or species are, when it comes to legal standing to sue. (See our recent posts: Do Animals Have Standing? parts 1 & 2) …Continue Reading Do Ecosystems Have Standing?
A dolphin walked up to the bar in Massachusetts, but was told it had no standing. Well, at least legally. A male dolphin named Kama was named as a plaintiff in a case in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts …Continue Reading Do Animals Have Standing to Sue? Part 2: Animals filing as individuals
“[The Palila] wings its way into the federal court as a plaintiff in its own right.” With these words in 1988, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 9th Circuit gave hope to animal rights supporters everywhere that animals could finally sue …Continue Reading Do Animals Have Standing to Sue? Part 1: Animals filing as species.
“Corporations are people, my friend.”— Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, (Aug. 11. 2011) Artificial person. (17c) An entity, such as a corporation, created by law and given certain legal rights and duties of a human being; a being, real or imaginary, who for the …Continue Reading Do Corporations Have Standing?
Black’s Law Dictionary (10th edition, 2014), defines “criminal solicitation”, under “solicitation” (2), as: “The criminal offense of urging, advising, commanding, or otherwise inciting another to commit a crime <convicted of solicitation of murder>. Solicitation is an inchoate offense distinct from the solicited crime. Under the …Continue Reading Criminal solicitation as a crime
When doing legal research, is it easier to use online sources or books? Which produces better results? Can you even do it all online, if you want to? As part of the answer to this, the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries have a web page …Continue Reading Legal research: print or online?
In the United States, some states elect their judges, while in others they are appointed. Judges in Massachusetts are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, also known as the Governor’s Council. This has been so ever since 1780, …Continue Reading How a judge is selected in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has a glorious heritage, with important historical figures such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere. Shots fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts in 1775 initiated the American Revolution. Great literary figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, …Continue Reading Chocolate Chip Cookie: the official state cookie of Massachusetts
Words of law is a regular feature of Massachusetts Law Updates, highlighting a particular word or phrase and its meaning in law. Today’s phrase is habeas corpus. habeas corpus. [Law Latin “that you have a body”] (18c) A writ employed to bring a person before a …Continue Reading Word(s) of the month– habeas corpus
Lying or spreading “false news” was treated as a crime in colonial Massachusetts. In 1645 the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law which stated: “Whereas truth in words as well as in actions is required of all men, especially of Christians, who are the professed …Continue Reading The Law Against Lying and False News in Colonial Massachusetts
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2019