One lawyer's courtship of genuine happiness

This is not a story about the law; it’s about people. But it does happen to have a lawyer as its central character. It was the early 1990s, and attorney Marc Davis had a good life. He had a nice house in the Philadelphia suburbs and a lovely wife named Pat. I know this because Marc is my wife’s uncle. We would visit Marc and Pat, have a nice dinner and sip one of Marc’s fancy wines. But Marc’s life, like that of many lawyers, was perhaps too predictable. I wonder... More

State's top 10 busiest District Courts offer venue for rich, famous, quirky

1. Springfield District Court: 38,355 criminal cases This court has heard more criminal cases than any other in Massachusetts since 2005. But a unique one made it onto the docket in June when Donald P. Whitney, the clerk of Hampden Juvenile Court, found himself on the other side of the law after he was arrested for assaulting a roommate with a yard rake. 2. Worcester District Court: 34,870 criminal cases Don’t give officials any grief when you come to the second busiest... More

7 TIPS for switching to digital TV in '09

Will there be an expensive glitch in your switch to digital TV next February? If you’re still fuzzy on the process, you could be tuning in to trouble. No matter what kind of television you have, the change should not cost you big bucks. We shopped undercover to see what clerks — hot to make a sale — are really telling customers. We also interviewed officials at the Federal Communications Commission. And here, as they say in TV land, is the scoop: So when does the big ... More

Four's company, five's a crowd — by zoning officials' count

“A bunch of fascists,” muttered a supporter of the plaintiffs as she exited a Boston courtroom of the Land Court recently. Presumably she was referring to city officials and their new policy prohibiting landlords from renting apartments, regardless of their size, to more than four undergraduate students. Those plaintiffs — four property owners and a student — were in court seeking a preliminary injunction on the policy. In a wide-ranging lawsuit, they charged the city of... More

Dispute over customer's bill could end up costing NSTAR

A Dorchester man has discovered that, even if you pay your bill, NSTAR might say you didn’t. Gregory J. Duarte, a former high school history teacher, says he always paid his gas and electric bills on his property in Dorchester. But in 2005, NSTAR filed a lawsuit against him in Dorchester District Court, claiming that Duarte owed the utility company $7,210.09 in unpaid charges. It took Duarte two years and a trial to prove to a judge that NSTAR was wrong. After he won, he found that... More

Should there be term limits for the governor and lawmakers in Massachusetts?

“I think executives should have term limits.” — Fay Yarbrough Norman, Okla.   “I think that the governor should have term limits, but not the state representatives and senators. What you want to avoid is that word ‘entrenched.’” — Joanne Melisch Wakefield, R.I. “I would like to see what the model is for other states. Upon seeing that, I think a refreshing of the blood provides interesting new choices and would hopefully get laws passed... More

Legal Briefs

Vulgarity not enough to uphold conviction How obnoxious can someone be in public without committing disorderly conduct? Extremely obnoxious, according to a decision from the state’s Appeals Court. In Commonwealth v. Mallahan, the court found that a man should not have been convicted of disorderly conduct for his “rantings” while police were arresting him. The outburst included “warnings that he would sue the officers, as well as loud protestations interlaced with profanities... More

Not everything comes up roses for landscaper seeking payment in court

If you join in your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s contract with a third person, you could find that all is not lovey-dovey. That’s the lesson a Tyngsborough couple learned recently after a Massachusetts judge issued a ruling in their case. The man and woman decided to move in together in when their romance became serious. They soon found that their yard needed work, so they hired a landscaper. After the landscaper beautified the yard, the couple became dissatisfied with his... More

The law of the beach

Summertime. The word alone makes one want to strip down, throw some bottles on ice, hit the water and take part in the warm-weather debauchery that prevails over New England from solstice through Labor Day. But along with all that fun in the sun comes a host of rules and regulations governing the water and the sand. And unless boaters and beach-goers in Massachusetts are up on the law, they could be facing a heap of trouble, according to lawyers and state officials. Among the tips they offer Exhibit... More

Was she stoned? Woman marries Berlin Wall

A farmer who married someone he met on the Internet has asked for the marriage to be annulled after finding out that his bride, Randy Victoria, is actually a man named Ralf. In happier news, a woman with a “bizarre fetish for inanimate objects” has been legally married to the Berlin Wall for 29 years. God is not mentioned anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. When asked why, Alexander Hamilton supposedly said, “We forgot.” The tradition of black judicial robes... More

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