CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

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In a Post-Michelle Carter World, Be Careful What You Say

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By Laurel Newman

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) recently affirmed Michelle Carter’s conviction of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the suicide of Conrad Roy. The case has been especially newsworthy since before the trial occurred, due to Ms. Carter’s indictment resting solely on spoken and written words that the Commonwealth says coerced the victim to commit suicide. As this author previously wrote, this case is the first where a defendant has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter without doing any physical act . . .

NIFLA v. Becerra: Totally Detached From Reality

By R Spooner

Although Justice Sotomayor often joins the same opinions as Justice Ginsburg, they do depart on an important philosophy of judging. Justice Ginsburg has maintained that her gender makes no difference to judging. Justice Sotomayor, while still a Circuit Court judge, made a speech questioning the famous notion that a wise old woman and a wise old man would reach the same conclusion when deciding cases. She famously said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” See Charlie Savage, A Judge’s View of Judging Is on the Record, NY Times (May 15, 2009). Not surprisingly, this quote got a lot of play during Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings . . .