News
Two MHTL Attorneys Appointed as Hearing Officers
Attorneys Alisia St. Florian and Matthew Feeney have been appointed to serve as Hearing Officers for the Board of Bar Overseers for the 2019-2021 Term. During this voluntary three year appointment, hearing officers are called upon to make determinations and recommendations as to alleged attorney misconduct.
Alisia St. Florian is a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane. Mrs. St. Florian’s primary focus is special education along with general education law.
Matthew Feeney was an Assistant District Attorney for fifteen years in both Essex and Suffolk County. Mr. Feeney is a senior attorney emphasizing in representation of public retirement boards, conducting internal investigations for public and private entities, civil litigation and criminal defense.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Prevails in U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Attorney Felicia Vasudevan, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, received a favorable decision on behalf of her client, Marshfield Public Schools. The Plaintiff appealed the district court’s judgement that upheld a decision of the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (“BSEA”). However, as the notice was filed more than 30 days after entry, the First Circuit ultimately dismissed the appeal for being untimely. The Plaintiff also appealed the district court’s order, denying her motion to vacate. Read More
New Features of Public Participation at School Committee Meetings
Following our Alert from March 16, 2023, Civility is Dead – The Supreme Court Rules Municipal Control of Public Speak Limited to Reasonable Time/Place/Manner Restrictions, which discussed the holding to the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Barron v. Kolenda and the Town of Southborough (SJC-13284), we promised to bring you more detailed guidance on developing a Public Speak policy for your public body or municipality. The Barron case involved a constitutional challenge to the Town of Southborough’s public comment policy, which attempted to impose a code of civility on members of the public who participated in public comment before public bodies. In Barron, the court interpreted the state constitution to mean that public bodies may request, but not require, that public commentators be respectful and courteous. Instead, a public body may set restrictions on reasonable time, place, and manner comments to ensure that the meeting retains an orderly and peaceable manner.
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