Advocates Champion Housing Justice for Communities of Color in Supreme Judicial Court

Brief Filed Supporting Attorney General's Enforcement of MBTA Communities Law in Milton

BOSTON, September 17, 2024 - Yesterday, attorneys from Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and Brown Rudnick LLP filed a friend-of-the-court brief before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the Attorney General's lawsuit against the Town of Milton to enforce the MBTA Communities Law. The brief was filed on behalf of Commonwealth-based organizations that advocate for racial and ethnic justice or provide housing services to low-income communities. The signatories are the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, the Greater Boston Latino Network, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Haitian-Americans United, and Immigrant Family Services Institute.

The brief builds on LCR's sustained advocacy around the MBTA Communities Law, which has been ongoing since 2022. This includes efforts to educate the public about the zoning mandate's importance and a groundbreaking lawsuit-also filed by LCR and Brown Rudnick-against the Town of Holden for openly defying the law.

In the latest brief, LCR and Brown Rudnick are representing community organizations to provide the Supreme Judicial Court with an important racial justice perspective.

The brief supports the Attorney General's position that the state's zoning mandate is mandatory for all 177 communities it covers, including Holden and Milton. Full compliance with the mandate is critical to alleviating the housing affordability crisis in Massachusetts, which disproportionately harms communities of color, and ending the Commonwealth's entrenched patterns of racial segregation.

The brief is available here.

Click here and here for more information about the lawsuit against Holden.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick is a leading international law firm that provides exceptional, client-driven service in global litigation, crisis management (restructuring, investigations and special situations), brand and reputation management, life sciences and technology. We advise on high-profile cross-border matters while providing the kind of personal attention to clients that is typically found at boutiques. Our enterprising and tenacious lawyers serve our clients around the globe from offices in key financial centers in the U.S. and the U.K., and have been recognized by, among others, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation and Law360 for excellence in their fields.

About Lawyers for Civil Rights

Lawyers for Civil Rights fosters equal opportunity and fights discrimination on behalf of people of color and immigrants. We engage in creative and courageous legal action, education, and advocacy in collaboration with law firms and community partners. We focus on impact areas that represent the front lines in today's battle for equality and justice. LCR is headquartered in Boston. We represent clients across Massachusetts and surrounding communities-and the impact of our life-changing work ripples across the country.

Media Contacts

Stephen Clark
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