Supreme Judicial Court

Massachusetts has delayed the resumption of jury trials until early next month. The earliest potential start date for jury trials will be extended to Nov. 9, Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey said in a statement last week. The delay comes amid a rising number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the state. The Supreme Judicial Court had authorized the…

House and Senate leaders on Beacon Hill chose not to intervene Thursday to block the expiration this weekend of Massachusetts’ moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, despite the efforts of one Democrat to force an emergency extension of the ban through the end of the year. Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday put forward an eviction diversion plan that allows the moratorium…

A week before Massachusetts’ temporary eviction ban is scheduled to end, the Baker administration announced a $171 million plan to support renters and tenants.

The highest court in Massachusetts has reduced the first-degree murder conviction of a man found guilty of killing an Army veteran during a fight in Boston’s Theater District in 2012 to second-degree murder in a decision that redefines “extreme atrocity or cruelty” in murder cases. Peter Castillo, 32, of Salem, was convicted in 2016 of shooting Iraq War veteran Stephen…

In a touching speech, Gov. Charlie Baker honors the memory of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants, who died suddenly on Monday.

The Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the Sept. 1 deadline for local election officials to receive mail-in primary election ballots. The court ruled Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by Fourth Congressional District candidate Becky Grossman, who sought a 10-day extension of the period allocated for counting mail-in primary ballots. The 22-page decision, authored by Justice Scott Kafker, comes six days…

Massachusetts highest court is weighing whether to grant more time to count mail ballots in the state’s Sept. 1 primary election amid concerns of U.S. Postal Service delays. The state’s Supreme Judicial Court is slated to hear arguments Monday in a lawsuit filed by Becky Grossman. The Democratic candidate for Congress wants to extend the deadline for counting state...

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., questions Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a Senate hearing Friday about changes in postal operations, including limits to overtime pay and the removal of mail-sorting machines, that have caused service delays nationwide.

Sue O’Connell sat down with Massachusetts State Senator Becca Rausch, who explains the differences between mail-in voting and absentee voting, what you need to do before you vote and the deadlines for your applications and ballots.

With COVID-19 still a major concern, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a law that establishes a vote-by-mail option, expands early voting and beefs up safety at polling places.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments Tuesday on a petition that seeks to reduce the prison population in the state in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly new coronavirus behind bars. The petition seeks to lower the number of prisoners through, among other measures, the release of “incarcerated individuals who are vulnerable to COVID-19, near the…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments as to whether or not to release inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Massachusetts’ highest court has reportedly ruled that former House speaker Thomas Finneran must give up his state pension.

Thousands of drug convictions have been tossed out in Massachusetts because of a former state drug lab chemist who worked while high almost every day. A report filed Tuesday with the state Supreme Judicial Court says more than 24,000 convictions in 16,449 cases have been dismissed as a result of the scandal.

Boston’s district attorney can’t be forced to prosecute a protester arrested during the recent “straight pride” rally, a Supreme Judicial Court justice ruled Monday, according to The Boston Globe. The ruling comes after Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins filed an emergency petition last week after Boston Municipal Judge Richard Sinnott denied requests from the DA’s office to dismiss charges...

The highest court in Massachusetts has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a man who was 16 when he fatally stabbed another teenager in the bathroom of their high school. John Odgren was convicted in 2010 of the 2007 killing of 15-year-old James Alenson at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.

A jury began deliberations in the trial of convicted child rapist Wayne Chapman Thursday, mulling additional time behind bars for the man who allegedly exposed himself to prison nurses in Massachusetts. Chapman pleaded not guilty to charges of open and gross lewdness and lewd, wanton and lascivious acts for allegedly exposing himself to staff at Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley.

The state’s highest court has upheld the sentence of a Massachusetts man who at age 17 was convicted of raping and murdering a woman and drowning her two young children in a bathtub.