BOSTON, MA (WBZ-AM) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the State’s public defender’s agency argued three cases in the both the state supreme court and federal court Tuesday.
The arguments are being described as historic busy day -- as there has never been multiple cases argued in one single day.
One is a class action lawsuit involving homeless people with disabilities.
They delivered an oral arguments in a class action lawsuit concerning the rights of families experiencing homelessness.
The court will decide whether the superior court properly ordered the baker administration to use hotel rooms when necessary to accommodate the disability needs of parents and children in Massachusetts’ shelter system.
In another case, both groups urged the Justices to throw out more convictions tied to a state drug lab wanting even more convictions thrown out tied to former chemist Sonja Farak who was convicted in 2014 of stealing drugs from the lab to feed her addiction and admitted to being high at work.
Prosecutors already agreed to dismiss thousands of cases linked to Farak -- but the ACLU wants all of the labs convictions dating back to 2004 be thrown out when Farak began working there.
Meanwhile in Federal Court, attorney Adriana Lafaille argued for married couples separated during the immigration process. they asked the court to release Lucimar de Souza, a mother who’s been detained and separated from her husband and 10-year-old son for over three months, after she came in for a marriage interview that the government asked her to attend.
last month, the ACLU announced it is suing president trump and officials in his administration in an effort to protect people from detention and deportation – and to keep families together while non-citizen spouses pursue lawful immigration status
ACLU legal director Mathew Segal calls it a "really big day for civil rights in Massachusetts.”
WBZ NewsRadio1030’s Shari Small reports.