Sentencing reform, a legislative priority of the Massachusetts Bar Association, cleared a major hurdle Nov. 18 when the Senate passed an MBA-backed bill that grants parole eligibility to nonviolent drug offenders serving mandatory minimum sentences.
Across the state's court system, the effects of drastic budget cuts can be seen and felt in everything from long lines at clerks' windows, to delays in sending out summonses, to the temporary relocation and consolidation of courthouses.
The Massachusetts Bar Association launched an innovative program last month that teams up practicing minority attorneys with diverse students in high school, college and law school. Aimed at giving inner-city students opportunities in the legal community that do not otherwise exist, the Tiered Community Mentoring Program has been a longtime dream of Norfolk and Probate Judge Angela M. Ordoñez.
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