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State of the Judiciary
Address/Voir dire
"First of
all I think voir dire is a vitally important part of our
jury selection process. And it's a tremendous tool to ensure you
get an unbiased jury as you possibly can. Wherever you have
opportunity for a jury trial, considering the use of voir
dire is only a good thing."
MBA President Marsha V.
Kazarosian, Boston Business Journal, October
20
Kazarosian was quoted in a BBJ piece
on a possible wider application of attorney conducted voir
dire which was mentioned by Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants in
his State of the Judiciary address on Oct. 16 at the MBA's annual
Bench-Bar Symposium. In his address, Gants spoke about the
implementation process the judiciary will put in place for voir
dire. The event was also covered by the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
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Judicial nominations
"The governor and his highly talented legal
counsels and Judicial Nominating Commission have worked in
symphonic-like unison to select a diverse and deeply talented pool
of women and men who will be making decisions stretching deep into
the next three decades."
MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer Martin W.
Healy, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, October
9
In his latest "Healy on the Hill" column, Healy describes the
impact Governor Deval L. Patrick has had on the Massachusetts
judiciary through his judicial nominations. Patrick, who leaves
office on Jan. 8, 2015, has appointed five of the seven current
justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, in addition to several
other key judgeships across the state. "Gov. Deval L. Patrick's
razor-like focus and steely discipline has changed an entire branch
of government -- no easy task, given the myriad bureaucratic
distractions and inevitable political eruptions a governor must
attend to on a near daily basis."
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Of note:
- MBA President Marsha V. Kazarosian appeared as a guest on FOX
25 to discuss the jury selection process in the upcoming federal
trial of accused Boston Marathon bombing suspect
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. (Oct. 21).
- MBA Treasurer Jeffrey N. Catalano also appeared as a guest on
FOX 25 to analyze the case of Hien Tran of Orlando, who died in a
car accident from injuries that may have been suffered by her car's
faulty air bag. (Oct. 21).
- MBA member Susan Mielnikowski appeared as a guest on "Mass Appeal," a morning talk show on WWLP 22
News in Springfield to promote the Western Massachusetts
Dial-A-Lawyer program on Oct. 22. (Oct. 20)