Denise Lavoie

May 10, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

An attorney for married gay couples has argued that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it treats same-sex married couples differently than heterosexual couples.

By Denise Lavoie

1 minute read

April 24, 2003 | Law.com

Massachusetts' highest court overturned a $4.1 million malpractice verdict against a Boston hospital Tuesday, saying the award must be capped at $20,000 because the hospital is a charitable organization. The case was closely watched by lawyers suing the Boston Roman Catholic Archdiocese in hundreds of clergy sex abuse lawsuits. The damages being sought in those cases are well above the charitable cap.

By Denise Lavoie

2 minute read

October 05, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

An appeals court cleared the way Friday for a Harvard student to receive extra break time during a lengthy medical licensing exam so she can pump breast milk for her infant daughter.

By DENISE LAVOIE

3 minute read

March 24, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

A prominent Boston defense attorney has been charged with conspiracy and money laundering after allegedly plotting to conceal the source of more than $225,000 in drug money.

By Denise Lavoie

1 minute read

November 10, 2005 | Law.com

Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotech company, sued units of Roche Holding AG in federal court in Boston, alleging patent infringement of its popular anemia treatment. The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday, claims the Roche units are planning to market one or more anemia treatments that infringe on six patents protecting Epogen, a drug that replicates the kidney hormone erythropoietin, which increases the amount of red blood cells.

By Denise Lavoie

2 minute read

July 30, 2004 | Law.com

Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday that a shortage of defense lawyers caused by low pay is violating poor defendants' constitutional rights, and said cases must be dismissed against suspects who go without a lawyer for more than 45 days. The court also noted that the $30-per-hour pay for lawyers who represent indigent defendants in district court has barely changed in 20 years and is among the lowest in the country.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read

July 11, 2007 | Law.com

A Massachusetts state commission filed ethics charges against a judge who won a $2 million libel award from the Boston Herald, accusing him of misconduct for writing threatening and intimidating letters to the newspaper's publisher. The commission alleged that Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy engaged in "willful misconduct" that was unbecoming of a judicial officer and cast the judicial system in a bad light. Murphy admitted he wrote and sent the letters, but denied engaging in misconduct.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read

January 13, 2003 | Law.com

Five Massachusetts students asked a court Thursday to declare unconstitutional a federal law that requires 18-year-old men, but not women, to register for military service. Their suit claims the law amounts to gender-based discrimination and violates their civil rights. Men who do not register cannot receive federal student aid or hold certain federal jobs and are subject to criminal prosecution.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read

May 14, 2004 | The Legal Intelligencer

Pfizer Inc. has agreed to plead guilty and pay $430 million in fines to settle charges that its Warner-Lambert unit flouted federal law by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote non-approved uses of one of its drugs.

By Denise Lavoie The Associated Press

3 minute read

October 27, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

A federal judge has ordered Connecticut's top election official to allow voters to wear World Wrestling Entertainment clothing to the polls.

By DENISE LAVOIE,AP Legal Affairs Writer

3 minute read