Dexter v. Superintendent, Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Concord (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-142-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 13-P-1844 Appeals Court MICHAEL DEXTER vs. SUPERINTENDENT, MASSACHUSETTS CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, CONCORD. No. 13-P-1844. Middlesex. March 9, 2015. – September 11, 2015. Present: Green, Trainor, & Carhart, JJ. Imprisonment, Enforcement of discipline. Administrative Law, Regulations. Regulation. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on September 10, 2012. The case was heard by Peter B. Krupp, J., on motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, and a motion to reconsider or, in the alternative, to alter or amend the judgment was considered by him. Joan T. Kennedy for the defendant. TRAINOR, J. The plaintiff, Michael Dexter, was a pretrial detainee in custody at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord (MCI-Concord) for at least part of 2012.[1] The plaintiff filed a complaint seeking a declaration concerning the property that pretrial detainees are allowed to possess at MCI-Concord. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss and the plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment. A Superior Court judge denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss and granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, entering a declaratory judgment stating: “103 C.M.R. 403, et seq., shall apply to inmates awaiting trial at MCI-Concord and no such inmate awaiting trial shall be considered a ‘transient inmate’ within the definition of that phrase in 103 C.M.R. 403.06.” The defendant filed a motion to reconsider, or in the alternative, to alter or amend the judgment, which was denied. This appeal followed. On appeal we are asked to determine the proper interpretation and application of the inmate property regulation as it applies to pretrial detainees.[2] Prison administrators are permitted “considerable discretion in the adoption and implementation of prison policies.” Royce v. Commissioner of Correction, 390 Mass. 425, 427 (1983). “However, the limits of such discretion are established by the rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Correction. Once an agency has seen fit to promulgate regulations, it must comply with those regulations. [A]gency regulations have the force of law.” Ibid. (citations omitted). Here, the Department of Correction is bound by its “inmate property” regulation, as promulgated in 103 Code Mass. Regs. §§ 403.00 (2001) (the regulation). The “Applicability” section of the regulation states that it is applicable to “all inmates, whether sentenced or awaiting trial, incarcerated at state correctional institutions.” 103 Code Mass. Regs. § 403.04 (2001) (emphasis supplied). Section 403.04 makes it clear that […]
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Leder v. Superintendent of Schools of Concord & Concord-Carlyle Regional School District, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-095-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11224 PAUL LEDER[1] vs. SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS OF CONCORD & CONCORD-CARLYLE REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT & others.[2] Middlesex. February 7, 2013. ‑ May 31, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. School and School District. School and School Committee, Superintendent of schools, Regional school district. Municipal Corporations, Contracts. Contract, Bidding for contract, Regional school district. Injunction. Practice, Civil, Preliminary injunction. State Ethics Commission. Conflict of Interest. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on August 15, 2011. A motion for preliminary injunctive relief was heard by Garry V. Inge, J. A petition for interlocutory review was heard in the Appeals Court by Elspeth B. Cypher, J. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Kwabena B. Abboa-Offei for the plaintiff. Adam Simms for the defendants. Andrew P. Botti & David K. Moynihan, for David K. Moynihan & another, amici curiae, submitted a brief. Martha Coakley, Attorney General, & Deirdre Roney, Special Assistant Attorney General, for State Ethics Commission, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. GANTS, J. The issue on appeal is whether, under G. L. c. 268A, § 21 (a), as appearing in by St. 2009, c. 28, § 80, a party may obtain declaratory or injunctive relief rescinding an action taken by a municipal agency based on an alleged violation of G. L. c. 268A, § 23, where the State Ethics Commission (commission) has made no finding of a violation and where the municipal agency has not requested this relief. We conclude that a finding of a violation of § 23 by the commission after an adjudicatory proceeding and a request for rescission by the municipal agency are both prerequisites to the filing of a complaint seeking rescission under G. L. c. 268A, § 21 (a). Because neither prerequisite has been met in this case, we affirm the denial of the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction and remand the case to the Superior Court with instructions to dismiss the complaint.[3] Background. The facts are not materially in dispute. The plaintiff, Paul Leder, doing business as Spencer Brook Strings (SBS), operates a musical instrument sale and rental business that rents string instruments to students in various school districts throughout Massachusetts, including the Concord public schools and the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District (collectively, school district). Since […]
Man Arrested for Assault and Battery on West Concord Street
The following was supplied by the Boston Police Department. Charges listed do not imply a conviction. A South End man was arrested on an assault and battery charge on Saturday evening, according to the Boston Police Department. Officers responded to an assault and battery in progress at 5:25 p.m. at 108 West Concord St. on Saturday. On arrival, officers found the victim with a contusion on the right side of her face. Police said the victim spoke limited English and had an ice pack on her face, and confirmed that the suspect had struck her, causing her to fall to the floor. The victim stated that there was an argument, which turned violent. Police said they observed heavy swelling to her cheek. Tan Nghia Duong of 108 West Concord Street was arrested and charged with assault and battery. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch