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Words of law is a regular feature of Massachusetts Law Updates, highlighting a particular word or phrase and its meaning in law. Today’s word is standing. standing n. (1924) A party’s right to make a legal claim or seek judicial enforcement of a duty or right. • To have …Continue Reading Word(s) of the month – standing
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
The original Massachusetts Office of Refugee Resettlement was created in the early 1980s for the purpose of implementing the requirements of the [U.S.} Refugee Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-212). During his term of office, Governor Dukakis issued three Executive Orders to comply with the federal …Continue Reading Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants
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
Early in 1692, a group of girls in Salem Village (now the town of Danvers) began to accuse people of witchcraft. Accusations swelled, and soon, many people had been examined and jailed, awaiting trial. What laws were followed during the Salem witch trials of 1692? Under …Continue Reading Witchcraft law up to the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a June 15, 2012 Memorandum . In the Memorandum, the DHS “announced that certain individuals without a lawful immigration status who were brought to the United States …Continue Reading DACA and Advice for Immigrant Families in Massachusetts
The power to grant executive clemency for offenses violating state law, including both pardons and commutations, is held in Massachusetts by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council. The governor’s power to pardon is rooted in the Constitution of the …Continue Reading Governor’s Power to Pardon
On January 27, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13769, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States” . It provides an example of an order that was issued, modified and revoked. On February 3, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Ninth …Continue Reading Executive Order 13769: Issuing, Modifying and Revoking
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2019