COURTS

O'Brien was wrongfully terminated and is entitled to back pay, a judge ruled after two years of legal drama.

In Hampshire Superior Court, in Northampton, Mass., a judge denied an emergency motion by the the Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools to stop a former employee from being reinstated to a job she was fired from.

The Hampden District Attorney's office will not seek a new trial in the case of Edward Wright, convicted of murder in 1985. Wright's conviction was overturned earlier this year.

The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition known as MIRA said Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court decision to limit nationwide injunctions in President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship order is "disgraceful."

The state is looking to lease space from a private developer to house a new courthouse in Springfield.

The nominations come after some lawmakers wrote to Gov. Maura Healey last month saying there were too many judicial vacancies in the region.

Edward Wright was found guilty in the killing of his friend Penny Anderson and has been incarcerated ever since.

The slow start of the new term in the Judicial Nominating Commission and Governor's Council could be the cause of the delayed appointments.

In a letter sent to Governor Maura Healey, the legislators said four of the 11 Superior Court judge positions in western Mass. are vacant, and that a District Court position in the Berkshires is also unfilled, all of which is causing delays in legal proceedings.

Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio in a scathing new report called the executive branch's handling of employment settlements "dysfunctional" and "chaotic," saying agencies failed to operate with explicit policies for those agreements under the Patrick and Baker administrations.