From Big Dig to ‘shoe bomber,’ decade’s top cases leave lasting impression on Bay State

Massachusetts has had its fair share of court cases that have made headlines. But which are the ones that have truly affected the citizens of the commonwealth? Exhibit A has compiled a list of the five cases from the last decade that have  had the biggest impact on the community.

1. The Big Dig

In the wake of the I-90 connector tunnel collapse that killed Milena Del Valle in July 2006, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that criminal charges would be brought against one of the companies involved in the $15 billion Big Dig project. At the same time, Coakley arranged for a $685 million civil-recovery settlement. While the payout was less than what some had hoped for, the settlement helped bring closure to one of the biggest construction disasters in U.S. history. “Massachusetts can’t be mired in the Big Dig investigation for the rest of its history,” Coakley said in 2007. A wrongful-death suit brought on behalf of the Del Valle family is pending.

2. Same-sex marriage

The seven judges who sit on the state’s highest court, the Supreme Judicial Court, made national headlines in 2003 when they ruled in the case Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health that the state should recognize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was the first state in the country to do so.

3. The mortgage crisis

Those hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis scored a big win earlier this year when a judge decided to crack down on banks and other financial institutions that were found to have lured homeowners into taking out shaky loans. The judge in the case ruled that a California bank could not make any attempts to foreclose on a sub-prime residential mortgage loan in Massachusetts without the written permission of the attorney general. The move is certain to affect numerous property owners who would otherwise be forced to vacate their homes.

4. The church abuse scandal

Former Catholic priest John Geoghan (below), a key figure in the church sex-abuse scandal, was found guilty in 2002 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy. That case, along with the 2005 conviction of Paul Shanley, who was found guilty of child rape, became symbolic of the Catholic church’s now well-documented cover-up of sexual abuse. The Boston Archdiocese later reached a $10 million settlement with 86 alleged victims. Several other civil suits are pending.

5. The ‘shoe bomber’

Richard Reid (above) became one of the faces of terrorism in December 2001 when he was arrested for trying to ignite explosives in his shoe while aboard an American Airlines plane. The aircraft touched down at Logan International Airport, and Reid was brought to court in Boston. He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. The case led to immediate and sweeping changes in airport security, including the requirement that passengers remove their shoes when passing through metal detectors. Reid’s infamous shoe now sits in the office of Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard T. Leone, who prosecuted the case.