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Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

“To protect that right, every unjustifiable intrusion by the government upon the privacy of the individual, whatever that means employed, must be deemed a violation of the Fourth Amendment.” – Justice Louis D. Brandeis, Olmstead v. U.S. 438, 478 (1928)

BBA Signs on to Amicus Brief Challenging DOMA

Committed to ensuring that the Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection effectively protect all people from invidious discrimination, whether on account of race, gender, national origin, religion, alienage, or sexual orientation, the Boston Bar Association has signed on to an amicus brief arguing that classifications based on sexual orientation must be subjected to heightened scrutiny.

The brief, written by the ACLU and Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, concerns two cases (Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, et al. No. 10-2204, and  Nancy Gill et al v. Office of Personnel Management et al., No. 10-2207) that involve a constitutional challenge to Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) being heard before the First Circuit. The decision of the BBA’s governing Council to join in the brief reinforces the BBA’s longstanding position on same-sex marriage, dating back to the BBA’s Amicus Brief filed in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health in 2002. 


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The Issues

  • Privacy

    As data collection and information networks expand, data security and privacy issues are increasingly a central part of the legal landscape.  Legislators, regulators, businesses and lawyers are under increasing pressure to draft and implement effective laws, regulations, and security and privacy programs under rapidly changing technological, business and legal conditions. 

  • Same-Sex Marriage
    • The BBA believes that civil marriage is a basic civil rights issue fundamental to the freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 14th amendment.  In recent years, the BBA has taken other actions in support of same-sex marriage, including:
    • In 2002, we filed an independent amicus brief in support of same-sex couples seeking the right to marry in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health. In the brief, we argued that denying civil marriage licenses violated the Massachusetts Constitution.
    • In 2005, we drafted a brief supporting the position of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) in Cote-Whiteacre v. Dept. of Pub Health. We argued that the 1913 statute, which prevents non-resident couples from marrying in Massachusetts if that marriage would be void in their home state, was unconstitutional.
  • Death Penalty

    The BBA has repeatedly opposed legislation that would reinstitute capitol punishment and filed an amicus brief in Commonwealth v. Colon-Cruz. Our arguments point to flaws in the justice system, the death penalty's disproportionate effect on minority populations, and its failure to deter violent crime, and the fallibility of the justice system

  • See More of Our Work

    For more information or to learn how to get involved, please email Kathleen Joyce, Director of Government Relations, at kjoyce@bostonbar.org.