On Friday, the highest court in Massachusetts issued a decision in our firm’s public records lawsuit, confirming that the privacy exemption of the public records law does not apply to records related to investigations of law enforcement misconduct. We represent Eric Mack, whose brother Anthony Harden was shot and killed by Fall River police in 2021. Mr. Mack requested records about the investigation of the shooting from the Bristol District Attorney. The DA should have provided these records because the 2020 police accountability bill made it clear that investigations of police misconduct cann ..read more

Earlier this month, Howard had the pleasure of speaking at the investiture program for United States District Judge Myong Joun. Howard met Myong in 1997; Myong joined the firm as a paralegal while he was in law school. After becoming a member of the bar, Myong joined the firm as an associate attorney. Myong remained a friend when he left to start his own law firm focusing on criminal defense in addition to civil rights cases. Later Myong became a state court judge. Myong Joun will be a terrific addition to the federal bench. We are proud of his accomplishments ..read more

Check out this Boston Globe article about our former law student: Rising star Danielle Ponder went to law school in Boston. But she’s given up the courtroom for the concert stage. Danielle was a fantastic public defender, but we’re delighted that she is succeeding in her dream of being a full-time musician. We’re looking forward to hearing her incredible voice tonight at the House of Blues ..read more

With great sadness, we share the news that our client and friend Lawyer Johnson has passed away. Lawyer’s life embodied an important chapter in the civil rights movement. Lawyer, a black man, was wrongfully convicted of murdering a white man in 1972. Racial bias permeated Lawyer’s trials. Originally sentenced to death, Lawyer served ten years in prison before being freed. He described this experience as a “legal lynching.” Howard was a first-year law student when he first met Lawyer during Lawyer’s second criminal trial. Eventually Howard’s former law partner, Michael Avery, won Lawyer’s free ..read more

Howard was quoted in this Boston Globe article: Michelle Wu was asked about Patrick Rose’s internal affairs file. Her answer raises more questions. In 1995, an internal Boston police investigation found that officer Patrick Rose likely molested a child. The department allowed him to keep his job and continue to interact with children. He recently pleaded guilty to molesting half a dozen children over his career as a police officer and police union president. The Globe reports that Mayor Wu has not yet viewed the full internal affairs investigation of Rose. Howard and other experts agree that t ..read more

Howard’s peers selected him to be recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2022 in the field of Civil Rights Law. Howard received this award for professional excellence because he successfully handles civil rights cases for clients with complaints of police misconduct, injuries due to police brutality and excessive force, false arrests, wrongful convictions, illegal strip searches, violations of prisoners’ rights, and more ..read more

We recommend this article: Years of alleged abuses by Fall River cop reveal limits of internal police investigations. The Fall River Police Department ignored multiple credible complaints about Officer Pessoa using improper force and making racist and sexist comments. Instead of disciplining Pessoa, the Department gave him the job of training new officers in the field with additional pay. Last May, after a 19-year career rife with allegations of police brutality, Pessoa was convicted and sentenced to prison for assaulting a civilian and filing false reports. The civilian obtained security came ..read more

We are saddened by the loss of our friend and colleague Sarah Wunsch, who died on August 17. Sarah was an excellent lawyer. She was motivated by compassion but was strategically aggressive when representing her clients. Our firm worked with Sarah on many civil rights cases, including the landmark case Glik v. Cunniffe, which established people’s right to record police officers and other public officials who are performing their duties in public. Sarah Wunsch at a protest outside Boston Police Headquarters, October 2014 Sarah was a longtime civil rights champion who was always willing to share ..read more

Congratulations and thank you to Lawyers for Civil Rights, who negotiated a settlement with the Boston Police Department in which the department has agreed to resolve its backlog of public records requests within six months and improve their system for providing records. The Boston Police Department typically resists providing public records by incorrectly claiming that records are exempt from the public records law and by routine lengthy delays. In the past, our office has had to sue the department to force them to produce information, but no one should have to resort to a lawsuit in order to ..read more

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Myong Joun as the newest federal judge in the US District Court in Massachusetts. Howard first met Myong in 1997, when Myong worked as a paralegal for the Law Offices of Howard Friedman while he also attended law school. After Myong became a lawyer, he worked with Howard handling police misconduct and civil rights cases. Eventually, Myong opened his own criminal defense and civil rights practice. Myong earned the respect of clients, opposing lawyers, witnesses, and judges through his honesty, calm demeanor, and dependable nature. In 2014, Myong became a judge in ..read more