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SUPREME
JUDICIAL COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS IN SALEM
Boston, MA--In
a continuing effort to reach out to communities across the
Commonwealth and to broaden public awareness and understanding
of the appellate process, the seven Justices of the Supreme
Judicial Court today heard oral arguments in five cases on
appeal in the Essex County Superior Courthouse in Salem.
The
Court’s last visit to Salem was on January 4, 1993, when the
Justices sat in the same courtroom to celebrate the SJC’s
300th anniversary as the oldest appellate court
in continuous existence in the Western Hemisphere. It was
on January 3, 1693, in Salem where the Court, then known as
the Superior Court of Judicature, held its first historic
sitting ending the Salem Witchcraft Trials.
SJC
Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall said, “ It is gratifying
to see many students here today learning about the appellate
process in our system of justice. The teachers and lawyers
also deserve praise for their important roles in teaching
our young people about the rule of law in our society and
the rights and freedom we cherish in a constitutional democracy.”
Today’s
sitting includes a case, Commonwealth v. Jason Twombly, originating
from Essex County. The other four cases are Marceline Donaldson
and another v. Louis Farrakhan; Massachusetts Prisoners Association
Political Action Committee and others v. Governor of Massachusetts
and others; Commonwealth v. Ramona M. Balicki and another;
and M. Joseph DeMatteo v. Susan J. DeMatteo. Following oral
arguments, the Justices took the cases under advisement and
will issue written decisions within the next few months.
Numerous
professors, teachers, and students from colleges and schools
in the Salem area observed the appellate session and were
welcomed by several Justices informally before the hearings
began.
Following
the sitting, the Justices attended a luncheon sponsored by
the Essex County Bar Association in which President Bruce
N. Sachar and hundreds of lawyers, judges, and local city
and state officials greeted the Justices. Mr. Sachar also
provided welcoming remarks to the Justices in the courtroom
before oral arguments began.
The
Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, has been
holding sittings in courthouses throughout the state in recent
years to enable the public to observe appellate sessions outside
Boston, where the Court normally sits during the first week
of every month from September through May. This is the fourteenth
sitting of the Supreme Judicial Court in a county outside
Suffolk since 1993.
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