Succession
Before there was a 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, there were no set rules to follow in the event that a vice president...
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THE CHARGE | BLOG
The Charge is a blog that talks about the intersection of history and law. Please feel free to read, leave nice comments about how much you love it, share with your friends, colleagues, and people you don't even like who might appreciate it.
Victoria L. Nadel
- Nov 20
- 10 min
Obiter Dictum Run Amok
Commonwealth v. Dickerson, 372 Mass. 783, 797 (1977) was a felony murder case in an armed robbery of a liquor store that went awry. At...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Nov 13
- 8 min
For the Love of Money
Martin Scorsese’s haunting true crime film, Killers of the Flower Moon, named for the book of the same title by David Grann, depicts the...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Nov 6
- 4 min
Faith and Consequences
There are, today as ever, those who seek to inhibit education. As throughout the history of people, there are those who wish to restrict...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Oct 30
- 6 min
Scare Tactics
It’s the time of year when things go bump in the night. Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, skeletons, zombies, mummies and, of course, witches...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Oct 23
- 5 min
Seems Like Yesterday
There are definite trends in cases reviewed by the highest courts. Fifty years ago, there were a ton of obscenity cases. One hundred...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Oct 16
- 5 min
Ill Gotten Gains
The Supreme Court of the United States views the privilege against forced self-incrimination – commonly referred to as the right to...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Oct 9
- 4 min
"Columbus" means Dove and "Roger" means Spear - Irony for the Holiday
In a way, the reimagining of Columbus Day into Indigenous People’s Day is a fitting memorial for Roger Williams. An English-born...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Oct 2
- 7 min
Good Counsel
Imagine that a horrendous crime occurs not far from where you live where several members of a family are murdered in cold blood on New...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Sep 25
- 5 min
Cut on a Bias
During the Summer of Love, when people were turning on, tuning in, and dropping out, Congress grew concerned about riots (okay, in...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Sep 18
- 5 min
The More Things Change - Insurrection Edition
Several states, including Massachusetts, are grappling with interpreting Sec. 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. That is the one that says...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Sep 11
- 6 min
Oh Georgia - no peace I find
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Sep 4
- 4 min
Labor Pains
Organized labor has been a driving force in the American economy for well over a century. The labor movement has early bona fides right...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Aug 28
- 6 min
From Pillar to POST
The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission recently released data regarding officers who have faced...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Aug 21
- 5 min
Teach Your Children
The week of August 21 has significance in American history – it marks the anniversary of the arrival of perhaps the first enslaved...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Aug 14
- 4 min
Artful Dodger
With fewer than 300,000 men enlisted in the Army, the United States declared war on Germany in April, 1917. Recognizing this shortfall of...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Aug 7
- 4 min
Please continue...
Massachusetts prides itself on being a land of firsts – we claim the first free public school, first library, first abolitionist...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Jul 30
- 5 min
The Fourteenth Amendment Turns 155 - What Have We Learned?
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of...
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Victoria L. Nadel
- Jul 25
- 2 min
THE CHARGE
Welcome to The Charge. The word “charge” has many definitions: it is the offense criminal defendants face, the instruction given to the...
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