Legal Opinion
Secretary of the Commonwealth v. City Clerk of Lowell
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided August 4, 1977PublishedCited by 35 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtBraucher, J.
In 1974 the Attorney General issued three opinions with respect to the recording and use of names. Rep. A.G., Pub. Doc. No. 12, at 105 (1974). Rep. A.G., Pub. Doc. No. 12, at 48 (1974). Rep. A.G., Pub. Doc. No. 12, at 72 (1974). Those opinions asserted and elaborated a common law principle that people may select or change their names freely if there is no fraudulent intent. The defendants, city and town clerks, refused to follow those opinions and that principle in recording births and marriages, asserting a power to determine people’s surnames according to customary rules, regardless of the…
2Cases cited45 opinions
- Carey v. Population Services InternationalSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & ReformSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Trimble v. GordonSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- East Chop Tennis Club v. Massachusetts Commission Against DiscriminationMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1973
- Smith v. . United States Casualty Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1910
40 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by35 opinions
- Goodridge v. Department of Public HealthMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2003
- Rice v. Dept. of Health & RehabilitativeDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida · 1980
- Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Inc. v. Russell Management, Inc.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1980
- Gubernat v. DeremerSupreme Court of New Jersey · 1995
- Gentry v. City of NorwalkSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1985
30 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.