Low-Speed Vehicles

Since last July, Massachusetts has had a law (MGL c.90, s.1F-1I, added by St.2008, c.523) which allows operation of low-speed vehicles (those that do not travel more than 25 mph) on certain roads, and also requires registration of those vehicles. Yet, according to Sunday's Boston Globe, only 10 such vehicles have been registered in the state so far. More information on Low-Speed Vehicles is available from the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Older Oil Burners Must be Upgraded to Prevent Leaks

A law enacted over a year ago (St. 2008, c.453) requires homeowners with oil burners installed before 1990 to make a small change to their systems by July 1, 2010 to prevent leaks. According to the Mass. DEP, under the Homeowner Oil Heating System Upgrade and Insurance Law,  "Owners of 1- to 4-unit residences that are heated with oil must already have or install an oil safety valve or an oil supply line with a protective sleeve...  Installation of these devices must be performed by a licensed oil burner technician."  "It is important to note that heating oil systems installed on or after January 1, 1990 most likely are already in compliance because state fire codes implemented these requirements on new installations at that time."

The good news is that the law also requires insurers who offer homeowner's insurance to also offer coverage for oil leaks to those who have certified that they have made the repairs or are exempt from the requirement.

More information, including a diagram of necessary repairs, is available at the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection site.

Texting banned for commercial bus and truck drivers

Tuesday, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation banned texting by commercial drivers. The regulatory guidance is published in the January 26 Federal Register and relates to 49 CFR 390.17.
Federal employees are banned from texting by an executive order dated October 1, 2009. The DOT also has a web site called Distraction.gov and a blog called The Fast Lane which have other research on these issues.
Massachusetts has yet to ban texting or cell phone use for all drivers. The Federal ban would apply to all commercial vehicles.

Supreme Court rules corporations can participate in elections

The Supreme Court today overturned some elements of the campaign finance laws in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. You might recall this issue arose in 2008 with a film about Hillary Clinton. The 183 page opinion includes four addition opinions concurring and dissenting. The ruling concerns 2 UCS 441(b), contributions by banks, corporations and unions. The decision removes limits on independent expenditures that are not coordinated with candidates' campaigns. It leaves in place a prohibition on direct contributions to candidates from corporations and unions. Disclaimer and disclosure requirements were held to be valid restrictions. For an brief history and analysis from Nina Totenberg, listen here.
The Globe reports here.
Don't forget our Elections page for more elections law.
This could mean our own statute, chapter 55 section 8 is unenforceable.

New "sale" regulations in effect for retailers

The Attorney General's office regulates retail advertising as part of it's consumer protection responsibilities. Some of them include the need to disclose terms in an audible manner and at a speed equal to the other speech in the advertisement. Print ads can't contain important language that is too small, or hard to read due to lack of contrast. They have recently softened the requirements for marking items on sale. Now the stores can mark an item on sale even though the item has been at the reduced price for most of the year. In the past, it had to have been at full price for the majority of the time. The new regulations are here. The regulations also cover "buy one get one free", "if purchases separately" and gifts. The Globe has an overview of the regulations here. For more information check our page on Shopping and Returns, and Consumer Protection.

School Committee emails violate Open Meeting Law

On December 31, 2009, the SJC released their opinion in District Attorney for the Northern District vs. School Committee of Wayland, opining that the School Committee had indeed violated the state's Open Meeting Law by emailing amongst themselves comments on the performance of their superintendent of schools. The Court went on to say that in order to cure this violation, the school committee must release the written comments of the individual school board members. (See Footnote 9 of above-mentioned case.)

See our Massachusetts Law About Open Meeting Law for more information on this subject.

Noteworthy Impact of Melendez-Diaz

In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts (129 S. Ct. 2527) the Supreme Court found the introduction of state forensic-lab reports is testimonial evidence requiring the appearance at trial of lab technicians.

Here is a list of some subsequent decisions:

Commonwealth v. Sanders (Lawyers Weekly No. 82-271-09)
Defendant was found guilty of drug trafficking. The case has been remanded because the drug test technician was not present for cross-examination.

Commonwealth v. Nixon (Lawyers Weekly No. 82-092-09)
The judge admitted, over a defense objection, a drug certificate and testimony of the police that the substance ‘appeared to be a derivative of cocaine.’ The case has been ordered to a new trial since it was a violation of Melendez-Diaz.

Commonwealth v. Chery, 75 Mass. App. Ct. 909
In a firearm and ammunition possession case, a ballistics certificate was admitted into evidence. This case has also been ordered to a new trial.

Commonwealth v. Connolly, 454 Mass. 808
The defendant appealed a drug trafficking conviction asserting that the search warrant had attached affidavits from informants. Since the informants were not made available for cross-examination the defendant sought to exclude evidence found. The appeal was denied. Probable cause was sufficient for the search and informants had the right to confidentiality.

Commonwealth v. Brown, 75 Mass. App. Ct. 361
In another firearm case, the defendant was found in possession of an unloaded pistol. The prosecution entered a ballistics certificate that stated Brown was in illegal possession of a working firearm. Again this case has been sent to retrial for violation of right to cross-examination granted under Melendez-Diaz.