News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane Loses Accomplished Special Education Lawyer
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP is deeply saddened to announce that Doris R. M. Ehrens, a long-time attorney with the firm, passed away on May 23, 2021. Doris was an outstanding lawyer and litigator, and her accomplishments for our clients in the special education department were numerous and note-worthy. She was a star in the special education realm, but she excelled in many other areas as well. Over the years she was a tremendous help in litigation and other areas in municipal law. She was much admired by her friends, colleagues and clients, who described her as intelligent, focused, thorough, trustworthy and dependable. Doris was a kind and thoughtful person to everyone that got to know her and will be truly missed.
Ms. Ehrens had thirty-eight years’ experience in civil litigation, including public sector (municipal), bankruptcy, commercial/corporate, special education, personal injury (plaintiff and defense), employment litigation, and multiemployer trust fund litigation. She had extensive experience in federal and state, trial and appellate courts. Ms. Ehrens was admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Alaska, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the First and Ninth Circuits. She appeared in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Districts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the United States District Court for the Districts of Connecticut and Western Michigan, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court. She also appeared before various state administrative agencies including the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, Housing Appeals Committee, the Appellate Tax Board, the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, and the Massachusetts Committee Against Discrimination. She was associate editor of the legal update of a quarterly periodical for many years, taught business law in an MBA program, and had training in mediation. She had been practicing since 1977, after receiving her J.D. from the University of Denver, College of Law.
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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