News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Welcomes New Associate
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of a new associate attorney, Joseph Proctor. Mr. Proctor graduated cum laude from Boston University School of Law in May 2021. His practice focuses on civil litigation, municipal law, and labor and employment law. In his litigation practice, he has worked on various property law and civil rights matters. Additionally, Mr. Proctor has provided guidance to municipalities and participated in collective bargaining, grievance and arbitration matters.
During law school, Mr. Proctor served as the Secretary of BU’s Real Estate Association. He was also a member of BU’s Public Interest Law Journal throughout his second and third years. Mr. Proctor completed internships at the Plymouth Superior Court and the Administrative Division of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General. At the Superior Court, he assisted the Honorable Mark A. Hallal in handling several high-stakes civil trials. While at the AGO, he drafted numerous briefs and motions on wide-ranging administrative law issues.
Prior to law school, Mr. Proctor studied History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in three years, graduating summa cum laude in 2017. During his undergraduate studies, Mr. Proctor was a member of several honors societies in the fields of history and classics. And he participated on an archaeological dig in Tuscany, Italy in the summer of 2017. A lifelong student of history, Mr. Proctor has also written on local early American figures for the Northampton Historical Society. In particular, he thoroughly researched the life of the Early American general and blacksmith Seth Pomeroy, transforming information gleaned from his primary sources into several essays and a concise pamphlet for the Society’s programming. Mr. Proctor is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
United States Supreme Court Opens the Door for Special Education Students’ Right to Bypass Due Process Hearings When Also Suing School District for Money Damages Under ADA: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ___(2023)
In a unanimous ruling issued on March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of a 27-year-old deaf student who sued his Michigan school district, claiming he was denied the services of a qualified interpreter for years, and was misled by teachers and administrators about his progress in school. The student, Miguel Perez, only sought monetary damages. The Court held that he was free to sue the district for money damages due to discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that he did not have to “exhaust his administrative remedies,” prior to bringing such an action for damages. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in a case involving the rights of a disabled student requires a litigant to file and complete a due process hearing before an agency like the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) on all claims stemming from a school district's requirement to provide a student with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
United States Supreme Court Opens the Door for Special Education Students’ Right to Bypass Due Process Hearings When Also Suing School District for Money Damages Under ADA: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ___(2023)
In a unanimous ruling issued on March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of a 27-year-old deaf student who sued his Michigan school district, claiming he was denied the services of a qualified interpreter for years, and was misled by teachers and administrators about his progress in school. The student, Miguel Perez, only sought monetary damages. The Court held that he was free to sue the district for money damages due to discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that he did not have to “exhaust his administrative remedies,” prior to bringing such an action for damages. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in a case involving the rights of a disabled student requires a litigant to file and complete a due process hearing before an agency like the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) on all claims stemming from a school district's requirement to provide a student with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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