J.M. Lawrence

The Trump administration sued Harvard today, claiming the elite university fails to protect students against antisemitism. Not clear what judge will hear the case. Court docket doesn't show any assignment yet. In another battle last year between the White House and Harvard, a federal judge (who went to UPenn) labeled the administration's attacks on Harvard politically motivated.

This manslaughter case filed today against a young BPD officer is going to tear Boston apart. Was a fleeing felon killed because he was a threat behind the wheel? or because he defied an officer's warning and made him mad?

@HowieCarrShow Howie, I've got the text on my substack. Looking forward to hearing your analysis. substack.com/home/post/p-19…

BREAKING: New filing yesterday in FL courrts re: John "Zip" Connolly's murder conviction in gangland hit of John Callahan in 1982. Zip wants his conviction overturned, based on Whitey's own words. Filing includes never-before-seen first draft of Whitey Bulger's "book" about "What Really Happened." Everything is in Whitey's own handwriting, from 2007. He started writing after getting angry about how he was being portrayed in books, TV, etc. Then, below that, a couple of FBI 302 reports on Whitey's capture in Santa Monica CA in 2011 and what he told agents. As with the 'book," much of this was already known, and later came out during his murder trial in federal court in 2013, but there is new info here, and it's easier to read than Whitey's old-man handwriting. We'll be talking about these documents with Zip Connolly's lawyer, Peter Mullane, at 3:05 today on the show. howiecarrshow.com/whitey-bulgers…

I've got the unofficial transcript of Bulger's draft memoir. Lots of deep mob history coupled with angry rants against his partners in crime. Plus he really did vow to sacrifice himself to save the woman he loved from prison. Posted via Substack. substack.com/home/post/p-19… substack.com/profile/466294…

Revelations, or a self-serving rant in admirable Catholic school penmanship? Pages from a manuscript recovered from infamous crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger's California hideout have surfaced in public for the first time since the FBI captured him in 2011. "...These revelations will be a weapon - The law enforcement and prosecutors who made the deals with these people may see the error of their way. They will realize these people played them for suckers, knew what they wanted to hear and produced a chorus of lies and the eager naive law people cheered them on," Bulger wrote. thebostonreportah.substack.com/p/these-revela…

More than a year after Jill Kloppenburg's friends first reported her missing, a Tyngsborough man who knew her is facing murder charges. Shawn P. Sullivan, 40, was arrested today after human remains were found buried in plastic under a garage floor at the home where he lived. He faces arraignment in Lowell District Court. Investigators are still working to identify the remains and cause of death. "They were friends is the information we have," Middlesex DA Marian T. Ryan said at a news conference. Investigators went to the home based on a tip from someone close to Sullivan who claimed he confessed to shooting a woman named Jill and burying her under the garage. They found a large patched area on the garage floor and cut through the floor. Last fall, friends of the victim voiced concern via social media that authorities may have delayed issuing an official missing person report because Jill "had a history with addiction." She was last seen leaving her home in Lowell on Jan. 2, 2025.

Still some fire left at my old newspaper. Go Boston Herald.

@TympanickLaw Any insight into why this case went to trial? Essex took a hard line with this defendant. Similar cases usually end in a plea with no time served.

Reminder: Hank Brennan is a top 5 trial attorney in the Commonwealth. You may have disagreed that he prosecuted #KarenRead doesn’t change the fact he is incredible at his job. Good to see the system work today.

Lucy Medina, 58, was just acquitted in Salem of charges she attacked her abusive husband with a knife in 2020. Medina was represented by attorney Hank Brennan. Her husband did not testify. Brennan argued self-defense.

Verdict watch in Salem today for what CourtTV is calling, "Reluctant Victim Assault Trial.” Defense says Lucy Medina, 58, is a battered woman who was defending herself against husband who brutally beat her for many years. Fight during July 2020 barbecue landed her husband in the ER with knife wounds. Husband refused to cooperate with DA. Jury shown photos of wife's bruises and heard stipulation from both sides that husband beat another woman. Jury also shown video of police interrogation of Lucy; she begs to know if her husband is still alive, implies she would kill herself if he dies.

Did anti-Karen Read online psyops snare a lawyer for the O'Keefe family in the wrongful death lawsuit against Read? Attorney Marc Diller may have been a victim of friendly fire. He just apologized in court to Read for claiming she made profane incriminating statements when she didn't know she was being recorded. "I was mistaken," Diller told the court, "when I interpreted her words to say, 'I’m dead. I’m fucking dead.' " Diller also withdrew his emergency motion seeking to stop Read from getting her cellphone back from authorities. The apology came after an hour-long closed door meeting with the judge. This tempest was so offensive to Read's camp that her high profile attorney Alan Jackson, who won her acquittal of manslaughter charges last year, made the trek from LA to snowy Mass. for the hearing in Plymouth Superior. In a court filing, atty Diller had previously told the court Read made the wild comment when she was secretly recorded last year by media personality Turtleboy. The recording leaked online. Several X accounts then began publishing the "fucking dead" quote as gospel. In court papers, Read's attorneys said she was grossly misquoted. Outside the courthouse, Jackson appeared pleased with the outcome. "We just wanted a little honesty to the process," he said. Meanwhile, more leaks from Turtleboy's phone have been published online appearing to show that Read closely directed Turtleboy's actions in 2023 in ways previously not disclosed. He faces trial in Boston on charges of witness intimidation.

Federal judge in Boston has ruled the Trump administration cannot quickly deport migrants to countries other than their own. "the Court concludes that Defendants’ third-country removal policy is unlawful," U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy said in an 81-page ruling. DHS has sought to ship migrants to Sudan and other hostile areas with little notice. US will appeal. From hearing last year: Judge: "Is your position that the Government can decide right now that someone who is in their custody is getting deported to a third country, give them no notice and no opportunity to say, I will be killed the moment I arrive there, and, as long as the Department doesn’t already know that there’s someone standing there waiting to shoot him, that that’s fine?" Counsel for U.S. : "In short, yes." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

And in the dark days of winter, there rose a glorious sign of spring…The Kowloon will open a new tiki bar in April at Revere Beach. bostonglobe.com/2026/02/05/lif…

You're not wrong. It appears the judge wants a jury to have the final say because a key fact remains to be determined. What was this defendant's intent? Were his actions about gathering and publishing information, or was his conduct "witness intimidation" as so broadly defined in MA law? That same jury no doubt could also weigh the Norfolk DA's motives for charging a vociferous critic. Turtleboy tonight told @JusticeServedTV no Norfolk jury will convict him. He said he will testify his goal was always for those witnesses to testify truthfully, noting both Read trials were "good for business."

"This is an important First Amendment issue which should be decided by a jury of the defendant's peers..." I'm not a lawyer. This statement is baffling to me. In our system we don't let juries decide what is under the 1st Amendment and what isn't, do we? Juries don't know the Supreme Court precedents. I thought judges interpret the law & the constitution, while juries decide the facts of a case. Am I wrong?

PATS ARE BACK BABY @DrakeMaye2

Biggest snowstorm in years headed for New England. Shout out to Chelmsford PD for this modern day Norman Rockwell tableau. All that’s missing is a Southie guy in shorts sipping DD iced coffee.

@Grumpy_Hoosier Judge Young was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1985.

@BostonReportah Ugh. We have a real problem with radical judges who think they follow a higher calling than to obey our constitution, laws, and higher court precedents. This judge wants to micro-manage our process for issuing and revoking visas. It's not his job.

Extraordinary hearing going on in federal court right now. “The big problem in this case is the cabinet secretaries and the president of the United States are not honoring the First Amendment,” U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young said. Judge found Rubio and Noem “conspired” to chill free speech rights of plaintiffs who took part in pro-Palestinian protests on campuses. (Chill by revoking visas.) “These cabinet secretaries have failed in their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution,” judge says. Judge is now hashing out remedy. The government’s lawyer says Young has no jurisdiction so there is no remedy, claims immigration court controls. “No remedy?!” judge says, voice rising, “when I’ve found by clear and convincing evidence…I respectfully disagree.”

Now some vintage Judge Young. He’s reciting the Bill of Rights. He refers to the flag in the courtroom, same flag since this courthouse opened 28 years ago. “it will fly here long after I'm gone and this case is all but forgotten.” “What concept of freedom does that flag stand for? You all, each one of you, knows the answer," the judge says. Hearing adjourned.

Judge praises both sides for their work at trial last year. There is some discussion of public records from the case. Now the judge is getting philosophical: “How did this happen?” he asks. He pinpoints “a fearful view of freedom, a view that defines the freedom here in the United States by who’s excluded.“ “Non citizens, in their view, have less freedom, less freedom to speak. Thats wrong but that's their view… “It's as though they wish to exclude from participation anyone who disagrees with them,” the judge says.