I found myself in district court last week—it was a trial readiness day, and so the room was abuzz with attorneys trying to broker pleas and argue motions in anticipation of the trials that would be held within the next few days. Generally, the motions were heard without incident. The court allowed countless motions to “exclude the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test,” “sequester the witnesses,” and “keep out the defendant’s breath test refusal” without even an objection from the Commonwealth. Read More
Statement of Bruce Miller to the Committee on Public Health
For the past eight years, I have been working with the Massachusetts Campaign Against Torture, a citizens’ group dedicated to ending the involvement of health care providers, particularly psychologists, in the torture and abusive treatment of prisoners and detainees. I’m grateful to the Joint Committee on Public Health for its careful consideration of Senate Bill No. 1194 and House Bill No. 1149, which would prohibit such involvement by Massachusetts licensed professionals, and for the opportunity to speak in support of these important Bills. Read More
Resuming Progress on Lead Poisoning
I have always found the lead issue maddening because it is so obvious there is much that must be done, and much that can be done, which would be extraordinarily worthwhile to do–—paying off substantially in so many ways. It would make for a healthier society, a more stable one, a less crime-ridden one, a more intelligent one. Read More