Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Appeals Court SUFFOLK, SS. NO. 2020-P-0908 SALVATORE F. DIMASI, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WILLIAM F. GALVIN, Defendant-Appellant. ON APPEAL FROM A FINAL JUDGMENT OF THE SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT BRIEF OF THE DEFENDANT-APPELLANT MAURA HEALEY Attorney General Julia E. Kobick, BBO # 680194 Assistant Attorney General Government Bureau One Ashburton Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 963-2559 email: [email protected] 1 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES................................. 4 STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE.............................. 11 STATEMENT OF THE CASE............................... 11 Nature of the Case............................. 11 Statutory Background........................... 12 Factual Background............................. 17 1. DiMasi’s Criminal Conduct and Convictions.......................... 17 2. The Secretary’s Rejection of DiMasi’s Lobbyist Registration and the Presiding Officer’s Affirmance on Administrative Review............. 21 3. The Superior Court’s Decision........ 24 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT............................. 26 ARGUMENT............................................ 30 I. The Superior Court Erred in Declining to Defer to the Secretary’s Reasonable Construction of Section 45(m)............. 30 A. Section 45(m) Is, At Best, Ambiguous............................ 32 1. The Statutory Phrase “Shall Automatically Disqualify” is Susceptible to Different Interpretations................. 33 2. The Superior Court Disregarded Canons of Statutory Construction that Support the Secretary’s Reading of Section 45(m)........ 39 a. The Superior Court’s Construction Rendered an Important Part of 2 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM Section 45(m) Meaningless................ 39 b. The Superior Court’s Construction Undermines Legislative Intent and Results in Absurd Consequences............... 44 B. The Secretary’s Interpretation of Section 45(m) Is Reasonable and Warrants Deference................... 50 II. The Secretary Correctly Determined that, in Accordance with Section 45(m), DiMasi’s Felony Convictions Automatically Disqualify Him from Registering as a Lobbyist Until June 2021...................................... 54 CONCLUSION.......................................... 56 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE........................... 58 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE.............................. 58 ADDENDUM............................................ 59 3 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Adamowicz v. Ipswich, 395 Mass. 757 (1985)............................40 AT&T v. Automatic Sprinkler Appeals Bd., 52 Mass. App. Ct. 11 (2001).................31, 52 Banushi v. Dorfman, 438 Mass. 242 (2002).........................39-40 Biogen IDEC MA, Inc. v. Treasurer & Receiver Gen., 454 Mass. 174 (2009)........................51, 54 Blue Hills Cemetery, Inc. v. Bd. of Registration in Embalming & Funeral Directing, 379 Mass. 368 (1979)............................13 Boston Police Patrolmen’s Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Boston, 435 Mass. 718 (2002)............................41 Bridgewater State Univ. Found. v. Bd. of Assessors of Bridgewater, 463 Mass. 154 (2012).....................30, 44-45 Briggs v. Commonwealth, 429 Mass. 241 (1999)............................32 Brookline v. Comm’r of Dept. of Envtl. Quality Eng’g, 398 Mass. 404 (1986)........................32, 51 Casseus v. E. Bus Co., Inc., 478 Mass. 786 (2018)............................45 Chardin v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 465 Mass. 314 (2013)............................48 City of Worcester v. College Hill Props., LLC, 465 Mass. 134, 145 (2013).......................45 Cohen v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 41 Mass. App. Ct. 748 (1996)....................31 Collatos v. Boston Retirement Bd., 396 Mass. 684 (1986)....................47, 48, 49 4 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM Comm’r of Correction v. Superior Ct. Dept. of the Trial Ct., 446 Mass. 123 (2006)............................43 Commonwealth v. Hill, 57 Mass. App. Ct. 240 (2003)....................40 Commonwealth v. Pagan, 445 Mass. 315 (2005)....................25, 33, 44 Commonwealth v. Pon, 469 Mass. 296 (2014)............................13 Commonwealth v. Tobin, 392 Mass. 604 (1984)............................55 Commonwealth v. Zawatsky, 41 Mass. App. Ct. 392 (1996)....................41 Connors v. Annino, 460 Mass. 790 (2011)............................39 DaSilveira v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 97 Mass. App. Ct. 1120 (2020)...................37 DiMasi v. State Bd. of Retirement, 474 Mass. 194 (2016)............................31 Dupont v. Chief of Police of Pepperell, 57 Mass. App. Ct. 690 (2003)................37, 48 ENGIE Gas & LNG LLC v. Dep’t of Pub. Utils., 475 Mass. 191 (2016)........................31, 39 Fid. & Deposit Co. of Maryland v. Sproules, 60 Mass. App. Ct. 93 (2003).................36, 47 Franklin Office Park Realty Corp. v. Comm’r of Dept. of Envtl. Prot., 466 Mass. 454 (2013)....................32, 44, 51 Gaffney v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 423 Mass. 1 (1996)..............................37 Goldberg v. Bd. of Health of Granby, 444 Mass. 627 (2005)....................32, 44, 51 5 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, 920 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2019).......33-34, 35, 38-39 Home Depot v. Kardas, 81 Mass. App. Ct. 27 (2011).....................17 Jackson v. Longcope, 394 Mass. 577 (1985)............................17 Lazlo L. v. Commonwealth, 482 Mass. 325 (2019)............................13 Lindsay v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 439 Mass. 789 (2003)............................52 Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Comm’r of Ins., 397 Mass. 416 (1986)............................31 North Shore Realty Trust v. Commonwealth, 434 Mass. 109 (2001)............................45 Pereira v. New England LNG Co., 364 Mass. 109 (1973)............................13 Phillips v. Equity Residential Mgmt., L.L.C., 478 Mass. 251 (2017)........................39, 40 Retirement Bd. of Somerville v. Buonomo, 467 Mass. 662 (2014)....................31, 37, 48 Robinson v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 62 Mass. App. Ct. 935 (2005)....................36 Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 (2010).............................21 United States v. McDonough, 737 F.3d 143 (1st Cir. 2013).....17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 45, 55, 56 United States v. Turner, 684 F.3d 244 (1st Cir. 2012)....................45 United States v. Wilkerson, 675 F.3d 120 (1st Cir. 2012).............13, 45-46 6 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM Wallace W. v. Commonwealth, 482 Mass. 789 (2019)............................13 Wheatley v. Mass. Insurers Insolvency Fund, 456 Mass. 594 (2010)............................39 Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Amesbury v. Housing Appeals Committee, 457 Mass. 748 (2010)............................32 Statutes 18 U.S.C. § 201......................................55 18 U.S.C. § 371......................................17 18 U.S.C. § 1341.....................................17 18 U.S.C. § 1343.....................................17 18 U.S.C. § 1346.................................17, 55 18 U.S.C. § 1951.....................................18 42 U.S.C. § 1983.....................................24 G.L. c. 3 .....................................passim G.L. c. 3, § 39...............................14-15, 16 G.L. c. 3, § 45..................................24, 36 G.L. c. 3, § 45(a)...................................22 G.L. c. 3, § 45(m)...............................passim G.L. c. 3, § 50 .....................................16 G.L. c. 30A, § 14 ...................................24 G.L. c. 32, § 15(3A).................................47 G.L. c. 32, § 15(4)..............................36, 37 G.L. c. 55 ....................................passim G.L. c. 55, § 2 .....................................41 7 Massachusetts Appeals Court Case: 2020-P-0908 Filed: 10/30/2020 1:09 PM G.L. c. 55, § 3 .....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 5 .....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 6 .....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 7 .....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 8 .....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 9 .....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 10 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 11 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 12 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 13 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 14 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 15 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 16.....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 16A....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 16B....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 17.....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 18.....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 18B....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 18G....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 22 ....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 22A....................................41 G.L. c. 55, § 23.....................................41 G.L. c. 140, § 121...................................38 G.L. c. 140, § 131(d)............................37, 48 8 Massachusetts