BOSTON—On the eve of Governor Charlie Baker’s last day as governor—and Attorney General Maura Healey’s first—the Supreme Judicial Court considered an appeal in the waning litigation from the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The indictments reflect one of the Baker administration’s darkest hours.
In September, Britons uttered a phrase they had not uttered in 70 years. “God, Save the King” became the national anthem with the passing of Queen Elizabeth, II. But in Springfield, residents have been crooning this a tad longer.
The death of George Floyd reverberated into Springfield as it had the rest of the country. When the issue crossed Springfield’s employee social media policy, people would lose jobs. Among them was Darryl Moss.
The legal drama around the criminal indictments arising from the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home COVID-19 outbreak has flown under the radar since the appeal began. The case, however, jolted a bit in public view again as Healey’s office sought direct review from the Supreme Judicial Court.
With the clock possibly ticking down on his party’s majority, a Washington appeals court has ruled House Ways & Means Chairman Richard Neal has a right to Donald Trump’s tax returns. The decision was the latest turn in a three year quest to obtain the real estate tycoon and provocateur’s tax records.
It cannot be said more plainly. The Supreme Court has discredited itself. Its conservative majority has overreached and abused its role and the solemn respect the institution has accumulated over time. The evidence for this is not merely overturning Roe v. Wade. I
Just over two years since the coronavirus ripped its way through Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, the herd of legal action underway has begun to thin. Last week, families of the 76 veterans who contracted COVID-19 during the deadly March 2020 outbreak settled with the commonwealth for $56 million.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court effectively settled a lingering question. Who really controls the government of the city of Springfield? The justices of the commonwealth’s highest court clearly, decisively and unanimously found in favor of the separation of powers. The City Council shares that power.
The quest for Donald Trump’s tax returns will face its next test in March before a panel of federal appellate judges. Lawyers for Trump and the House Committee on Ways & Means will joust over the former’s appeal of a December district ruling that found the committee could review the records.
The commonwealth’s case against two administrators at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home is not over, yet. On Tuesday, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office announced that she would appeal a pre-Thanksgiving ruling that dismissed charges against former Bennett Walsh and Dr. David Clinton.