By Brook Baker
I have worked closely with Professor Yousuf Vawda from the University of KwaZulu Natal on patent law reform in South Africa since 2001. It’s been a long haul, but recent success in the form of a newly announced Intellectual Property Strategy has only been possible because of our collaboration with leading treatment access movements in South Africa, most especially the Treatment Action Campaign, Section27 (formerly the AIDS Law Project), and Doctors Without Borders . . .
By Seth H. Barron
Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) is a type of financing program that is implemented by a state or local government. This program is designed to increase the usage of expensive clean energy technology and can be applied to either commercial or residential property. This program has been active in California and Florida since 2007 and 2010 respectively. Enabling Legislation, PACENation, http://pacenation.us/pace-in-california/ (Last visited 6/20/2017); Enabling Legislation, PACENation, http://pacenation.us/pace-in-florida/ (Last visited 6/20/2017) . . .
By Laurel Newman
In the wake of the Michelle Carter decision, many questioned how Ms. Carter’s actions amounted to involuntary manslaughter. While the facts of this case have been found to satisfy involuntary manslaughter, Carter’s actions may have been more appropriately and effectively handled by cyberbullying laws . . .
By Karina I. Guzman
On January 25, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively changing immigration practices. The executive order has been spoken about extensively but the change in priority enforcements has been left out of that conversation. However, operating under these new priority enforcements, immigration officials picked up five noncitizens at the Lawrence, Massachusetts Immigration Office on March 31, 2017. This action by immigration officials shocked the community and immigration attorneys alike. The change in priority enforcements has forced immigration attorneys to change the advice they are giving to their clients . . .
By Monica Delateur
With the discussion surrounding Aaron Hernandez’s conviction, acquittals, and suicide, are you wondering why there is also a discussion of abatement? Though not necessarily a new legal development, abatement could allow Hernandez’s conviction to be avoided. Read on for a quick summary . . .
By Monica Delateur
Tuesday, April 18, 2017, was the deadline for prosecutors to determine what to do about convictions impacted by the Annie Dookhan evidence-tampering scandal. Massachusetts prosecutors decided to drop more than 21,000 drug cases implicated by the scandal. The dismissal of these cases was approved by the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on April 19th.
By Monica Delateur
The concern and devastating consequences of the Northeast’s opioid epidemic has taken an unexpected turn impacting trial courts and prosecutions. Effective January 8, 2018, substances containing any amount of fentanyl or carfentanil are banned from Massachusetts trial courthouses. Chief Justice of the Trial Court Paula Carey iterated the Trial Court‘s new policy in a memo, stating that the substances will only be allowed in the courtroom in very limited circumstances, including through a valid prescription where medical need requires use during the court day.
By Monica Delateur
A case heard by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) on April 3, 2017, has the potential for the SJC to determine the extent of Massachusetts‘s post-conviction DNA statute Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A. Section 278A was passed in 2012, and as discussed in Commonwealth v. Moffat, allows a defendant to bring a post-conviction motion for DNA testing if the analysis has the potential to result in evidence material to the identification of the perpetrator of the crime in the underlying case . . .
Are you interested in publishing written pieces on legal developments while on co-op? Recently I sat down with Stuti Kokkalera, L.L.B., L.L.M. (and current doctoral student in Northeastern University’s Criminology and Justice Policy program), to discuss tips that she followed and that are worth thinking about in order to publish while being an intern. These four tips are valuable tools to develop written-work during your co-op, and you can continue to use them when you return to the academic quarter . . .