JURIST - Massachusetts

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's constitution prohibited a ban on same-sex marriage passed in November 2003. Attempts to rev....... [more]

JURIST Guest Columnist Kevin Govern of the Ave Maria School of Law reveals the history behind recent changes to law and policy which will affect the involvement of military forces with civilian domestic law enforcement...Weeks prior to the devastating Boston Marathon bombings, and months after the d....... [more]

US Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction. According to the criminal complaint, Tsarnaev was charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against p....... [more]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Saturday released a statement reacting to statements by federal officials that the recently apprehended Boston bombing suspect will not be read his Miranda rights before being interrogated. A US Department of Justice official announced on Friday that the....... [more]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in two new cases on Monday. In Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. the court will hear arguments the deadline for filing a complaint to challenge a denial of disability under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The US Cou....... [more]

On April 14, 2006, Judge Robert Collins of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release internal documents pertaining to the controversial Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR). The goal of the CAMR was to permanently cap and reduce....... [more]

On March 30, 2005, the Massachusetts Senate approved a bill by a vote of 35-2 to alleviate restrictions on scientists conducting research on stem cells, including the controversial embryonic stem cells. Governor Mitt Romney vociferously opposed passage of the bill. On April 1, 2005, the state House....... [more]

On March 23, 2009, the Vermont Senate approved An Act to Protect Religious Freedom and Promote Equality in Civil Marriage, which legalized same-sex marriage in that state. Only two states — Massachusetts and Connecticut — had approved of same-sex marriage at the time, and Governor Jim Dou....... [more]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Monday dismissed a challenge to the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act of 2006 (AETA). The challenge was brought by five animal rights activists, all represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights, who claimed that AETA infri....... [more]

On March 2, 2010, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal to prevent Washington DC's same-sex marriage law from taking effect. Chief Justice John Roberts, acting as the DC Circuit judge, abjured an application requesting a stay of the Religion Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Act of 2009 pending fur....... [more]

On February 18, 2011, a Chinese court of appeals upheld the conviction of US geologist Xue Feng on charges of industrial espionage. Feng's conviction emphasized US concerns over Chinese humanitarian efforts and the independence of China's judiciary. Feng had been originally convicted on July 5, 2010....... [more]