Denise Lavoie

September 24, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

More than 80 years after Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston, they still inspire impassioned debate about whether they were guilty of the murders of two men during a 1920 payroll robbery.

By Denise Lavoie

5 minute read

May 03, 2011 | Legaltech News

The business of a bustling courtroom in Massachusetts began streaming live over the web for anyone to see. The courtroom, which usually does not allow reporters to use even computers, will now welcome laptops, iPads, and smartphones, and will encourage live blogging and posting to Twitter and Facebook.

By Denise Lavoie

6 minute read

May 14, 2004 | Law.com

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 promoting non-approved uses for one of its drugs. The company acknowledged spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote non-approved uses for the anti-seizure drug Neurontin, in part by paying doctors hefty speakers' fees and flying them to lavish resorts as "educational" trips.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read

August 25, 2005 | Law.com

A civil rights lawsuit filed by seven black Boston police officers who were fired or suspended after mandatory hair drug testing showed they used cocaine is casting the spotlight on a test that many say is unreliable. The officers, who have sworn they did not use cocaine, argue the hair testing is unfair because drug compounds show up more readily in dark hair than light hair. Their civil rights lawsuit is one of many legal challenges against hair drug tests.

By Denise Lavoie

5 minute read

October 16, 2007 | Law.com

A Superior Court judge defended himself Monday against ethics charges for writing the publisher of the Boston Herald after a jury found the paper had libeled the judge, partly by quoting him as saying of a teenage rape victim: "Tell her to get over it." The publisher said he was incredulous when he received the letters, one of which demanded that he bring a check for $3.26 million to a private meeting with Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy, who has denied making the remark about the rape victim.

By Denise Lavoie

4 minute read

October 08, 2007 | Law.com

A Massachusetts 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. Sophie Currier sued after the National Board of Medical Examiners said she could have only the standard 45 minutes of break time. Currier is scheduled to take the nine-hour exam over two days this week, but the national board planned to appeal to the state Supreme Judicial Court, the board's attorney said.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read

October 01, 2007 | Law.com

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and a former subsidiary have agreed to pay more than $515 million to settle federal and state investigations into their drug marketing and pricing practices. The civil settlement resolves a broad array of allegations against the company, and is the latest in a series of settlements the Justice Department has reached with pharmaceutical companies over illegal marketing of their drugs.

By Denise Lavoie

4 minute read

May 19, 2006 | Law.com

Massachusetts' highest court ruled on Thursday that tobacco companies cannot shield themselves from liability in wrongful death suits simply by claiming that smokers knew cigarettes were dangerous. According to Richard Daynard, a Northeastern University law professor, the ruling may have broad implications. "I think it's the first time that any court in the country has squarely held that as a matter of law, except in extraordinary and unlikely cases, this (personal choice) defense cannot be used," he said.

By Denise Lavoie

4 minute read

August 30, 2002 | Law.com

Defense lawyers asked a judge in Boston on Wednesday to bar as evidence e-mail seized from accused shoe bomber Richard Reid. Included among the messages is one in which Reid said he had a duty as a Muslim to "help remove oppressive American forces." Reid's attorneys argue the e-mail seizure after Reid's arrest was illegal because the FBI did not have probable cause for a search warrant.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read

September 14, 2005 | Law.com

The vice chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party was charged Tuesday with money laundering after he allegedly offered to "cleanse" drug proceeds for a legal client. Attorney Lawrence Novak was arrested after investigators said he allegedly offered to launder drug profits for Scott Holyoke, who is awaiting trial on federal drug trafficking charges and agreed to be a cooperating witness against Novak for the FBI. Gov. Mitt Romney called for Novak to step down while the investigation continues.

By Denise Lavoie

3 minute read