Renting a car in Athens? Be sure to wear your best duds

Justice Antonin Scalia is 19 times funnier than his Supreme Court colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to a “scientific” study by Boston University Professor Jay D. Wexler, who found that Scalia induced 77 “laughing episodes” during a single year of oral arguments. In 17th-century Massachusetts, smoking was legal — but only at a distance of five miles from any town. The first woman to graduate from an American law school was Phoebe Wilson Couzins (Washington University,... More

Should employers be allowed to run criminal background checks on job applicants?

“No, absolutely not. It has absolutely nothing to do with job performance.”— Kathleen McGhee, Cambridge “Yes. I’ve noticed at my job that the people who do have criminal backgrounds tend to have recurrences.”  — Marin Pasalich, Boston “I agree with that, just so you can have some background information.”— Linda Reed, Boston “I think so. I own a business myself, and I’d like to know.” Luis Rosa, Boston Interviews and... More

The law of Personal Injury

Click here to visit Crowe & Mulvey, LLP's website. Q. If I get hurt working out on one of the machines at my local gym, does the gym bear any legal responsibility? What if I can show that the machine was defective or in need of repair? A. Health clubs are guided by a series of standards, recommendations and statutory requirements, as well as a general obligation to take reasonable steps to protect their patrons. Depending on the circumstances, this may include making sure that users are properly... More

Issue of damages for loss of pets dogging Mass. courts

For thousands of years, ever since humans began to domesticate non-human animals, they have been regarded as “property” and as a measure of wealth. In fact, the similarity between the words “cattle” and “chattel,” defined in Black’s Law Dictionary as “[m]ovable or transferable property,” is no coincidence. Nowadays, animals are the only living, sentient beings that all societies around the world still consider to be property. The laws clearly... More

Home-renovation contracts must follow letter of the law

Second of two parts Although it may seem obvious, all contracts between homeowners and contractors should be in writing. (In fact, if the job is for more than $1,000, a contract has to be in writing under the law). The law requires numerous components for home-improvement contracts, and the list is too extensive to include all of them here. Some important provisions include full names, Social Security numbers, addresses, the registration number of the contractor and the date the contract was signed... More

The law of Landlords and Tenants

Q. What legal rights does a tenant have if he shares an apartment with a roommate who does not pay his portion of the bills?  A. Unless each tenant’s responsibility for bills and rent is specified in writing, it is extremely difficult to exact payment by another tenant. It is a good idea, therefore, to put any agreements about the division of utilities and rental payments in writing. But even then it can be expensive and time-consuming to litigate the matter against the roommate. Another... More

A right to R-Rated flicks?

You have to hand it to Anthony Gaskins, who currently is a “guest” at MCI-Cedar Junction. Prison inmates bring lawsuits all the time. They sue over the sleeping conditions. They sue over the food. One Massachusetts prisoner even sued because he thought the toilet paper was too rough on his behind. But Anthony Gaskins had a more noble goal: movies. Historically, prisoners in this particular facility could watch cable-TV movies on television sets in their cells. But, in 2006, former Commissioner... More

How a walk in the park turned into a wiretap nightmare

Law enforcement officers have used a 2001 Massachusetts court decision prohibiting citizens from secretly recording their conversations with anyone — including police officers — to suppress attempts by individuals to document police misconduct. Recent convictions show how local police have used that law to shield themselves from criticism. In that 2001 case, police had stopped the driver of a Porsche, Michael Hyde, a long-haired musician who figured he would be harassed during the stop.... More

In troubling election event in Pakistan, a warning for U.S.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December as she campaigned to return to office in her home country. This June marks the 40th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination on the night he won the California primary in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. What if such a murderous act were to be carried out now — and here? Does our process of picking a president guard against violent disruption of democracy by terrorists, or does it encourage... More

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