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Federal judge nominations in
Massachusetts
"It is not unusual because of the partisan gridlock
in Washington for any of the president's nominations to take up to
a year. And again, with the support of the local U.S. senators that
we have from Massachusetts, that will make a tremendous difference
in getting the president's nomination through."
MBA Chief Legal Counsel Martin
W. Healy, WGGB, Sept. 24
Speaking to Springfield's ABC
affiliate, Healy applauded President Obama's nomination of three
Massachusetts attorneys for federal judgeships: Hampden District
Attorney Mark Mastroianni, Boston lawyer Indira Talwani and Harvard
Law School professor David Jeremiah Barron. He urged the Senate to
move quickly to fill the long-standing vacancies.
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Aaron Hernandez case
"I think she's the perfect judge for this case.
She's extremely thoughtful and is among the highest regarded judges
on the bench."
MBA President Douglas K. Sheff,
Fall River Herald, Sept. 22
Sheff was one of the lawyers quoted in an article about the
selection of Bristol County Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh to
preside over the murder trial of former New England Patriot Aaron
Hernandez. Sheff said, "She is going to figure out a way to be fair
to everyone."
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New juvenile jurisdiction law
"Some of them can barely
put a sentence together, never mind be their own advocate."
MBA Vice President Martha Rush
O'Mara, Cape Cod Times, Sept. 19
Rush O'Mara, who practices mainly in
the Boston Juvenile Court, commented on the new juvenile
jurisdiction law, explaining why the juvenile system is the proper
place for 17-year-olds. The law was initially filed as House Bill
No. 1432. In April 2013, Rush O'Mara joined Joshua Dohan, director
of the Youth Advocacy Division at CPCS, to testify in favor of
House Bill 1432.
"Seventeen-year-olds are
still mentally developing, and should be treated as a juvenile
under our criminal justice system."
MBA Chief Legal Counsel Martin W. Healy, WBUR, Sept. 18
Healy was quoted after the governor
signed into law MBA-backed legislation that raised the age of
Juvenile Court jurisdiction from 17 to 18 years old. The MBA pushed
strongly for this change, because it allows the commonwealth's
youngest offenders the opportunity to become productive and
successful citizens through the rehabilitative nature of the
Juvenile Court.
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Recent MBA releases