Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has publicly reprimanded Judge Shelley Joseph for her conduct during a 2018 courthouse incident in which an undocumented immigrant avoided an ICE agent waiting to arrest him. The court did not find that Joseph knew about—or authorized—the defendant’s departure through a rear courthouse door. That distinction matters. Judges, like everyoneContinue reading “When a Judge Creates the Appearance of Two Systems of Justice”

There is nothing wrong with an elected official using social media to communicate with the public. In today’s world, it would be political malpractice not to. But there is a vast difference between communicating directly with citizens and quietly assembling an online army to distribute government-approved talking points while pretending to offer independent commentary. ThatContinue reading “City Hall’s Influencer Army: When Public Information Becomes Political Propaganda”

There are few institutions in American life that demand more trust than the judiciary. Federal judges possess enormous power. They can take away liberty, determine the fate of property, compel compliance with court orders and hold ordinary citizens in contempt. Their rulings can alter lives permanently. With that power must come a standard of conductContinue reading “The Robes Cannot Become a Shield”

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida recently warned that judges and members of the legal profession must do a better job educating the public about the judiciary’s essential role in American democracy. Her comments followed the release of two reports raising separate but closely related concerns: increasing threats against judgesContinue reading “Judicial Independence Must Be Earned—and Defended”

There was a time when Americans worried about an imperial presidency. Perhaps we should also be asking whether we are witnessing the rise of an imperial judiciary. That question has once again moved to the center of American politics because of U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, the Massachusetts federal judge who has repeatedly intervened in PresidentContinue reading “Judge Talwani and the Rise of the Imperial Judiciary”

So, what am I writing about now? Guitars and pens. At first glance, they may not appear to have much in common. But both are tools—tools for expressing thoughts and feelings that might otherwise remain buried somewhere inside us. I’m fortunate enough to own both, and I use them as best I can to giveContinue reading “Guitars and Pens”

“Ed’s a great guy. I’m just not sure about his politics.” That sentence says more about where we are today than it probably intended. Apparently, being a “great guy” is no longer enough. Character, kindness, loyalty and how someone treats other people all come with a political asterisk. Before deciding whether a person is trulyContinue reading “When Politics Becomes a Personality Test”

A neighbor who recently welcomed twins was walking through my neighborhood over the weekend. Naturally, I stopped to ask how they were doing with their new babies, including their son. As we talked about the exhaustion, excitement and enormous responsibility that come with bringing children into the world, I found myself thinking about what childrenContinue reading “The Greatest Gift a Parent Can Give”

If you’ve followed my posts on the law, you already know my concerns about the federal judiciary run deep. I’ve written about the hypocrisy of calling lawyers “officers of the court” while expecting them to remain silent when judges overreach, constitutional guardrails are ignored and accountability disappears behind the authority of the bench. Now, zoomContinue reading “Federal Courts and CM/ECF: Still Pretending, Still Failing”

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed a law earlier this month that fundamentally changes how the Commonwealth regulates abortions performed after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Supporters call it the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act. They say it protects the relationship between a woman and her physician and ensures that families facing devastating medical circumstances doContinue reading “After 24 Weeks, Where Is the Line?”

I have officially begun a two-week fruit challenge, thanks largely to the robust—and by “robust,” I mean nearly impossible to resist—support of my friend Randi. Randi is a passionate believer in the power of fruit. I am now reasonably certain she is either on the payroll of the National Fruit Growers Association or quietly preparingContinue reading “The Two-Week Fruit Challenge”

When someone asks me, “Do you think you make a difference?” I feel a little embarrassed. But depending on how the question is asked, I can also feel hurt. Sometimes it sounds less like a sincere question and more like a challenge: Do you really believe anything you do matters? In that moment, the questionContinue reading “Did I Make a Difference?”