Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice v. Court Administrator of the Trial Court, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-176-17)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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-12379 LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE vs. court administrator of the Trial Court & others.[1] November 6, 2017. Moot Question. Practice, Civil, Moot case. Trial Court. Public Records. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice (Lawyers’ Committee) appeals from a judgment of the county court dismissing as moot its petition seeking declaratory and injunctive relief requiring the respondents, who are the court administrator, office of court management, and executive office of the Trial Court, to produce certain records pursuant to the public records law. G. L. c. 66, § 10. We directed the parties to file memoranda addressing whether the single justice erred or abused his discretion in dismissing the case as moot. After reviewing the parties’ submissions, we affirm the judgment. The facts are not in dispute. The Lawyers’ Committee requested that the respondents produce documents concerning the demographics of the security department of the Trial Court, by race and gender, and the department’s hiring and promotion practices. The Lawyers’ Committee cited the public records law, G. L. c. 66, § 10, as the basis of its request. In response, the respondents stated that “[a]s part of the [j]udicial branch of government, the Massachusetts Trial Court . . . is not subject to the [p]ublic [r]ecords [l]aw.[[2]] . . . Despite that exemption, we are considering your request and will respond appropriately in due course.” The Lawyers’ Committee petitioned the supervisor of records for a determination that the requested records were public records under G. L. c. 66. The supervisor of records responded that “[r]ecords in the custody of the [c]ourt are records of the judiciary and are outside the jurisdiction of the public records law.” Some months later, having received no documents in response to its request, the Lawyers’ Committee filed its petition. Thereafter, the court administrator wrote to the Lawyers’ Committee, stating that the Trial Court intended to collect responsive documents and produce them.[3] The respondents did in fact voluntarily produce documents that were responsive to the Lawyers’ Committee’s request. The respondents represent, as they did before the single justice, that they have produced all responsive documents in their possession, custody, or control that are not confidential or privileged. The Lawyers’ Committee does not dispute this or claim that any documents are being wrongfully withheld. There is nothing further that a court can order […]
Gun Rights Rally on Boston Common Draws Hundreds
Taking aim at Democrats, the media and others they say are attacking the Second Amendment, hundreds of gun rights activists gathered on the Boston Common Wednesday afternoon to rally to fight a bill that would tighten gun control. “Every time the government passes new gun control laws it creates a problem,” Ying Li, an engineer who participated in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, told the crowd. The rally was organized by the Gun Owners’ Action League and was partly in response to new gun control measures being considered at the State House, including Gov. Deval Patrick’s bill to limit firearm purchases to one a month, reduce access to high-powered rounds of ammunition and require background checks before buying weapons at gun shows. Li compared gun control with tyranny, calling on the crowd to “kill (tyranny) in its infancy.” Alan Gottlieb, the founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, followed Li on stage at the Parkman bandstand, echoing the concern that the movement to undo the Second Amendment, as he sees it, is just beginning. “The attempt to ban so-called assault weapons is only the beginning of their attack on the Second Amendment,” Gottlieb said, calling the dismantling of the amendment the “ultimate goal of the Democratic Party.” To stop Patrick’s plan, protesters marched to the State House to meet with lawmakers and urge them to vote against the bill. “The only thing that stands in their way is us and the Republican Party,” Gottlieb said. “Gun control is going to cost (Democrats) control of the Senate. Democrats never learn from history and we gun owners never forget it.” SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Developers Win Air Parcel Rights to Build 32-Story Tower
Samuels & Associations and Weiner Ventures won the rights to build a 32-story hotel, apartment and retail complex near the Hynes Convention Center stop in the Back Bay. The state Department of Transportation announced Monday that it awarded the air rights parcels above and along Interstate 90 at the intersection of Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue for a mixed-use tower. The 99-year lease agreement is valued at $ 18.5 million in rent for the two parcels. In one spot, the developers will build a 400-foot high-rise hotel and residential building, which will be set back from Boylston Street with a low-rise retail building along the street. In the other, they will construct a mid-rise residential building on Boylston Street and a two-floor retail building that will cross the Turnpike along Massachusetts Avenue. Altogether, the $ 360 million project will create a total of 230 residential units, a 270-room hotel, and 50,000 square feet of retail space. “We believe the (developer’s) proposal provides the best overall value and long-term benefit to the City of Boston by transforming this critical Back Bay intersection along the Turnpike,” MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey said. “The proposal’s rent offer also provides the best financial benefits to the citizens of the Commonwealth.” MassDOT judged the project on design, community benefits, community and city input, and on the developer’s financial proposal, capacity, and experience. The process began in 2008 but was put on hold during the financial crisis; it restarted in 2011. The Samuel-Weiner team has developed several prominent properties in the Back Bay and Fenway area over the past several years, including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Boylston Street and the Fenway Triangle Trilogy. South End Patch