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…

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

TweetShareShare0 Shares

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…

Gov. Charlie Baker’s power during the pandemic was first up before the SJC Friday — where “winners and losers” in the crippled economy was debated along with the Legislature appearing to surrender control to the governor. The state Supreme Judicial Court must now rule if Baker overstepped his authority by issuing executive orders mostly under…

Several Members of the Supreme Judicial Court seemed wary on Friday of upending the fight against COVID-19 during a hearing on a case challenging the sweeping powers Gov. Charlie Baker has exercised over the last seven months in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full article   TweetShareShare0 Shares