The latest episodes of the MassBar Beat - the official podcast of the
Massachusetts Bar Association - are now available.
In "Homeless Court: A Second Chance at Hope," the
MassBar Beat looks at the inspiring work of Homeless Court, a
specialty court in Massachusetts that gives homeless individuals
with minor infractions a chance to clear their records and get a
new start.
MBA Young Lawyers Division leaders Tori Santoro (chair) and
Samuel Segal (chair-elect) had an opportunity to visit this "court
of second chances" at the Pine Street Inn shelter in Boston. In
this episode, hear observations from their visit, along with
interviews and stories of hope from Boston Municipal Court Judge
Kathleen Coffey; the Pine Street Inn's Elizabeth Condron, who
coordinates Homeless Court; two Homeless Court participants, who
were interviewed after their hearings; and MBA President Jeffrey
Catalano.
In another episode, "'Defamation' Courtroom Drama Encourages Dialogue
about Bias," the MassBar Beat looks at "Defamation" the play, a
touring courtroom drama written by Todd Logan, which has been
performed hundreds of times around the United States since its
debut in 2010.
At its core, the play is about a fictional civil lawsuit over a
claim of defamation. But the courtroom is really just the setting
for what turns out to be a thought-provoking, interactive program
about diversity that forces the audience to confront and talk about
stereotyping and perceptions of bias in the play and in our legal
system.
Last fall, the Massachusetts Bar Association was proud to
sponsor the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association's annual
presentation of Defamation the play to an audience of Boston-area
high school students. Many of the issues addressed in the play are
similar to the issues addressed in the MBA's recently launched CLE
series on identifying and eliminating implicit bias in the
courtroom. Sponsoring the MBLA's presentation of Defamation the
play offered a unique opportunity to get students talking about
bias and diversity, while also demystifying the legal system for
them at the same time.
In the this episode, hear from some of the high school students
in the audience, along with the MBLA's Stesha Emmanuel and MBA
President Catalano, as they discuss the important issues and
questions about bias raised in the play.
Listen to the MassBar Beat for free on iTunes, SoundCloud,
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yet, subscribe so you don't miss a "Beat"!