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Plaintiffs argue Legislature, not governor, should set pandemic policies
Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s highest court is poised to decide whether Gov. Charlie Baker’s string of executive orders were a legally appropriate response to contain the highly infectious virus or if he overstepped the authority outlined in law. An attorney representing business owners and religious leaders who sued the Baker administration…
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The Checkup: Governor's pandemic powers face legal test
BAKER GETS A CIVIL DEFENSE: The state’s law firm, led by Attorney General Maura Healey, is defending Gov. Charlie Baker’s use of the 1950 Civil Defense Act in combating the coronavirus pandemic. The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments Friday for and against a nonprofit group’s claim, filed in June, that the act wasn’t meant to extend…
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Should COVID-19 restrictions be left up to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker or cities and towns? Supreme Judicial Court weighs arguments
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker invoked the wrong law to justify his series of executive orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but even if he used the correct law, he would be overstepping his authority, an attorney representing small business owners suing the commonwealth told the Supreme Judicial Court Friday. Read the full article TweetShareShare0 Shares
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State’s top court, mulling Baker’s emergency authority, told he’s ‘turned the government upside down’
The state’s highest court is weighing a challenge to the sweeping emergency powers Governor Charlie Baker has wielded amid the pandemic, setting up a decision with potentially far-reaching effects on the scope of gubernatorial authority and the millions of lives it touches. The Supreme Judicial Court, meeting virtually without its chief justice, heard arguments Friday…
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