Issue Watch #13 – Chief Budd Honored, Budget Updates, New Faces on the Bench, and More
I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news for you—but let’s start with the good, because there’s a lot of it. The BBA President gave Chief Justice Budd one of our highest honors, the BBA Council heard from an old friend who now heads the House Judiciary Committee, Susman Godfrey secured a permanent injunction blocking yet another unconstitutional executive order, and the new state budget includes funding for a continued Access to Counsel program.
The bad news? The budget underfunds the Trial Court and CPCS, weakening the justice system’s ability to serve the people who need it most.
Chief Justice Budd Receives Haskell Cohn Award for Distinguished Judicial Service
Saying she was accepting it “on behalf of the SJC and what it stands for,” Chief Justice Kimberly Budd received the BBA’s Haskell Cohn Award for Distinguished Judicial Service last week. The event, held at 16 Beacon Street, brought together distinguished guests that included Chief Justice Budd’s family, fellow justices on the Supreme Judicial Court, and a number of current and former judges—among them retired Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, himself a past recipient of the award.
In her remarks, the Chief Justice called it a validation of the Court’s collective efforts, while emphasizing that her work builds on the enduring legacies of not only Chief Justice Ireland but also the late Chief Justice Ralph Gants, the recently deceased Chief Justice Herbert Wilkins, and Chief Justice Margaret Marshall.
Budget Update
State Budget Offers Mixed Bag on BBA Priorities
The Fiscal Year 2026 state budget is now on the Governor’s desk, after the Legislature adopted the final plan of a six-member conference committee. The BBA had reached out to the conferees to ask for their support on three priority line-items still at issue: appropriations for the Trial Court, the Access to Counsel Program for housing cases, and CPCS, as well as requesting increases in hourly compensation rates for bar advocates who take on representation of criminal defendants. In the end, the budget does offer $2.5 million to keep the Access to Counsel Program going and push it further down the path toward permanence. However, the Trial Court will face challenges as a result of appropriations below what they need. CPCS will be similarly under-funded, and adjustments to the bar-advocate rates will likely have to be addressed separately instead.
Courts, Cases, & New Faces
Susman Godfrey Prevails—Law Firms Go 4-for-4 vs. White House
Following similar outcomes in challenges brought by three other firms, boutique litigation firm Susman Godfrey secured a permanent injunction over the weekend against a Presidential executive order that singled it out for sanctions. Judge Loren AliKhan of the District Court in Washington, D.C., found the order unconstitutional, mirroring the outcome of litigation brought by Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale. Judge AliKhan sharply criticized the order, stating that it “threatens the independence of the bar—a necessity for the rule of law,” echoing language used in a bar-association amicus brief joined by the BBA. On Monday, the White House took action to reverse one of the decisions by filing an appeal in the Perkins Coie case—its first move to challenge any of the court decisions.
Amicus Committee Co-Chair Quoted on Karen Read Prosecution
Christina Miller, professor at Suffolk University Law School and co-chair of the BBA’s Amicus Committee, offered expert analysis in the Boston Globe on the controversial verdict in the recently concluded murder trial of Karen Read—with the prosecutorial decision to bring that top charge coming under scrutiny. “You have more credibility if you charge the counts you have the strongest evidence for,” said Prof. Miller, a former Suffolk ADA. While noting that some prosecutors bring the highest charges possible, on the theory that juries like to “split the baby,” she added, “There was sufficient credible evidence to prove manslaughter, but there are so many other credibility problems.” Prof. Miller also spoke with the New York Times, saying the verdict might have been different “if the taillight pieces had been collected in a way that was forensically sound, if the investigator who should be neutral doesn’t appear to be biased. The tragedy is that we will never know the truth.”
Judge Jennifer Allen Appointed to Appeals Court
With the confirmation of Judge Jennifer Allen by the Governor’s Council, the Massachusetts Appeals Court is now at full strength. Nominated by Governor Maura Healey, Judge Allen’s confirmation leaves an open seat on the Probate and Family Court, where she served since 2019. She presided in Middlesex and Norfolk Counties during her six-year tenure and previously was a solo practitioner in Ashland, handling divorce, custody, alimony, guardianship, and restraining orders. She also served as a board member for Metrowest Legal Services. Judge Allen graduated from Brandeis University and Boston College Law School.
New Nominations
Two New Nominees for Juvenile Court Judgeships
Gov. Healey has also submitted two names to the Governor’s Council for approval as Juvenile Court judges:
Nibal Raheb has been a solo practitioner for 26 years, primarily working as a bar advocate in Worcester County Juvenile Court and Westborough District Court. She has significant experience in the Juvenile Court handling care-and-protection, delinquency, and child-requiring-assistance cases, and has tried many cases there. She is also currently the supervising attorney for the Worcester County Bar Advocates, managing the Juvenile private counsel panel and mentoring and overseeing attorneys representing indigent clients in complex and sensitive juvenile matters. She graduated from Clark University and Southern New England School of Law.
Andrew Don has, since 2021, been Trial Panel Director for CPCS’s Children and Family Law (CAFL) Division, overseeing 750 private attorneys who represent parents or children in Juvenile Court care-and-protection, child-requiring-assistance, and guardianship proceedings. He previously maintained a solo practice for 18 years in Scituate, where he focused on representing families in care-and-protection and criminal-delinquency matters. Before becoming an attorney, he worked at the Home for Little Wanderers, helping to manage DCF (then DSS) residential programs, and also worked as a Residential Supervisor at a DMH residential treatment program for adolescents. He has both a B.A. and a J.D. from Boston College.
News from the Courts
SJC Appoints New BBO Chair and Vice-Chair
The SJC has announced its appointment of Richard C. Van Nostrand and Phyllis E. Federico as Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the Board of Bar Overseers—each for a one-year term, effective July 1. Van Nostrand, General Counsel at Mirick, moves up from Vice-Chair to succeed Professor R. Michael Cassidy, who served a one-year term as Chair and three years as a member of the Board and is a past chair of the BBA Ethics Committee. Van Nostrand previously served on the Judicial Nominating Commission and as a Director of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation. Federico—a partner at Warner, Federico & Ryan, LLP, who sat on the BBA Council—has participated on committees and pilot programs of the Probate and Family Court and spearheads the Child Focus Facilitation Conference in a number of courts.
The SJC also appointed, as new Board members, Nick Nesgos of Arent Fox Schiff; Bernard Guekguezian of Adler, Cohen, Harvey, Wakeman, Guekguezian, LLP; and former BBA Executive Committee member Paul Lannon of Holland & Knight. The BBO consists of twelve volunteer members appointed by the Court for four-year terms. Eight of the members are attorneys; the other four are public members.
US Judicial Panel Speaks on Amicus Briefs, AI Evidence
The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure is advancing two potentially landmark proposals—one aimed at increasing transparency in amicus brief funding, the other at regulating the use of artificial intelligence in federal trials.
The Committee has called for increased disclosure of funding sources by advocacy groups filing amicus briefs. Under the proposed rules, amici would be required to disclose any donor who earmarked more than $100 for the preparation of the brief if that person or entity had been a member of the organization filing it for less than 12 months. In addition, filers formed in the last year would have to disclose the date they were formed, targeting groups formed specifically to influence a specific case. The rule must still be approved by the full Judicial Conference and then by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, even if that happens, Congress could still block its implementation.
At the same time, the Committee is seeking public comment on what would become the federal judiciary’s first nationwide regulation of artificial intelligence. The proposal would regulate the introduction at trial of any evidence generated by AI. This and other machine-generated evidence offered at trial without an accompanying expert witness would be subject to the same reliability standards as expert witnesses.
SJC Invites Comments on Eyewitness Instructions
The SJC’s Standing Committee on Eyewitness Identification is inviting public comments on its proposed revisions to the Model Jury Instructions on Eyewitness Identification. The Committee calls the proposed revisions “extensive, due in large part to the Committee’s effort to make the instructions clearer by replacing existing text with plain language,” though the chair has presented a six-page “overview” of the amendments. Comments are due by September 16.
House Judiciary Chair Talks with BBA Council
The BBA Council welcomed back State Representative Michael Day, who serves as House Chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary, for its online meeting last week. Chair Day told members that he and colleagues remain “strong and resolute” in the face of a variety of assaults by the federal government, from masked immigration-enforcement agents lurking in courthouses and grabbing people (whether criminals or not) off the street, to open hostility toward reproductive rights, to anticipated cuts in funding for the Commonwealth. In response to a question from BBA President Matt McTygue, Chairman Day, who served as co-chair of the BBA’s Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Section until his election in 2014 and was a member of our 2008-09 PILP class—said his experience at the BBA had set him up well to be in a position to exert direct influence on some of the same issues he worked on as a volunteer here, citing as an example the new Access to Counsel Program for housing cases, which he was instrumental in establishing.
Boston Public Schools Reviewing Exam-School Policy
The Boston Public Schools are once again undertaking a review of their admissions policy for the city’s three highly competitive “exam schools,” aiming to enhance fairness, geographic representation, and racial and ethnic diversity. The BBA twice joined amicus briefs in defense of a previous version of the policy, arguing that a more diverse student body not only strengthens educational outcomes but also contributes to a more inclusive and competitive business community across Greater Boston. That policy ultimately withstood the challenge in court, reinforcing the legal and societal value of diversity in public education. As this new review unfolds, the BBA remains committed to equitable access to opportunity and to ensuring that the next generation of leaders reflects the full diversity of our city.
Annual Summer Leadership Reception on July 22
We invite all voting members to join us for the Annual Summer Leadership Reception on July 22 from 6-8pm at 16 Beacon Street. Hear from BBA President Matt McTygue, celebrate the contributions of our outgoing leadership team, connect with fellow members at the reception, and help shape the future of the BBA as we honor the leaders who have helped move our mission forward. This event also serves as the Annual Business Meeting of the BBA.
Register to attend here.
There you go: I think that about wraps things up from here—and just in time for your July 4th weekend, too. We’ll be spending the holiday waiting on the Governor’s approval of those BBA priority line-items in the budget. Talk to you next time!
