Pardonne-Moi

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb describes the assumptions inherent in the executive pardon power and explains why the purpose of the presidential pardon forecloses the possibility of a self-pardon. Colb argues that the only person who would dare to try to grant a self-pardon—one who lacks empathy—is the very one who should not be exercising the pardon power at all.

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Desrosiers v. The Governor

Docket: SJC-12983

Opinion Date: December 10, 2020

Judge: Cypher

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Civil Defense Act (CDA), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 17, 2A, provided the Governor with the authority for his March 10, 2020 declaration of a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for his issuance of the emergency orders and that the emergency orders did not violate article 30 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights or Plaintiffs' federal or state constitutional rights to procedural and substantive due process or free assembly. Plaintiffs brought this complaint seeking declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, challenging the Governor's declaration of a state of emergency and the emergency orders placing restrictions on daily activities as unauthorized and unconstitutional. The Supreme Judicial Court denied relief, holding that Plaintiffs' claims were unavailing and that the emergency orders were authorized and constitutional.

Commonwealth v. Boger

Docket: SJC-12878

Opinion Date: December 10, 2020

Judge: Budd

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant's conviction for committing the crime of distribution of cocaine within one hundred feet of a public park in connection with a sale of the controlled substance to an undercover officer, holding that the Commonwealth failed to prove that the area in question was a "public park" for purposes of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, 32J. On appeal, Defendant argued that the Commonwealth provided insufficient evidence that the park at issue was public within the meaning of the statute. The Supreme Judicial Court agreed, holding that the section 32J conviction could not stand because there was no evidence that Defendant was within one hundred feet of an area owned or maintained by a governmental entity.

Commonwealth v. Ramos-Cabrera

Docket: SJC-12900

Opinion Date: December 10, 2020

Judge: Budd

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of distribution of a class A controlled substance and committing the crime within one hundred feet of a public park, holding that Defendant's arguments on appeal were unavailing. Defendant appealed from the denial of his motion for a required finding of not guilty, claiming, among other things, that there was insufficient evidence proving that the area was a public park within the meaning of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, 32J. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the evidence presented was sufficient for the jury to find that the park at issue was a park within the meaning of section 32J; and (2) although the judge's instructions did not include a definition of a "public park," the instructions did not result in a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.