Massachusetts Law Updates

Lexis Digital Library, available through the Trial Court Law Libraries, now offers newly-expanded and easier access to its content.

The Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries are celebrating Library Week, which runs from April 23rd - 29th. Learn more about libraries' recent developments in public services, staff, technology, and more!

Viewings will be held every Tuesday during the month of March at the Berkshire Athenaeum Auditorium.

Portraits in Massachusetts Law is a regular feature of Massachusetts Law Updates.

Do ecosystems themselves have the ability to sue? Learn more about the law regarding ecosystems, how they are recognized by the courts, and their legal personhood status in other countries.

Can animals sue in the court of law? Read more about a dolphin named Kama, who was named as a plaintiff in the court case Citizens to End Animal Suffering & Exploitation, Kama, et al. v. New England Aquarium.

Can an animal species sue on its own behalf for its welfare and survival? Read more about the 1988 case Palila v. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and subsequent court commentary on the topic.

“Corporations are people, my friend.”— Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, (Aug. 11. 2011).

"The sole question is, who has standing to be heard?" Do trees have the power to sue? Read more from Justice William O. Douglas’ dissent in Sierra Club v Morton, 405 U.S. 727, 741 (1972).