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Voir dire/damages
legislation
"The vast majority of states permit it. It is
designed to give someone a fair chance."
MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief
Operating Officer Martin W. Healy, Boston Globe (via State House News
Service), July 24
Healy was quoted in a State House News
story on legislation passed by both the House and Senate that would
allow attorney led voir dire questioning of potential
jurors. The bill would also allow plaintiffs in civil cases the
opportunity to specify an amount for damages. "Right
now jurors are left to kind of guess what they should award a
particular person for an injury. Sometimes the jury will come back
with an award that has no basis in finding," said
Healy.
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Judge rules without hearing
evidence
"You can't stump me usually.
I've been a lawyer for 33 years, and I never heard of anything like
that."
MBA Past Criminal Justice
Section Chair Peter Elikann, Boston Globe, July 22
Elikann was quoted in a Globe piece about a Chelsea
District Court judge who issued a not guilty verdict without
hearing any evidence and without the presence of the prosecutor who
was assigned to the case. Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel
F. Conley has asked the Supreme Judicial Court to undo the ruling.
A version of the article was picked up by the Associated Press and
appeared in several publications across the country.
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Competency to stand trial
"There's no way to guarantee someone
is not going to break the law. Most people know the penalty comes
after, and they still do it."
MBA Treasurer Robert W.
Harnais, Cape Cod Times, July 20
Harnais spoke to the Cape Cod Times regarding the
Superior Court case of Benjamin Shealey who was arrested on
manslaughter and homicide charges in connection with a July 2013
accident in Chatham. Shealey is being evaluated at Bridgewater
State Hospital to determine his competency to stand trial. If the
judge finds Shealey incompetent to stand trial, he could be
required to serve out a portion of his sentence in a treatment
facility, according to Harnais.
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Of Note:
- Elikann also provided his legal analyis of the latest in the
Tsarnaev case as a live guest on the FOX25 Morning News on July
23.
- MBA member David Harlow was quoted in the July issue of Medical Economics in an article on health
information exchanges and patient consent questions ("Health
information exchanges introduce patient consent questions").