The fourth edition of a popular American Bar Association (ABA) book on civil rights law was recently released and includes important contributions by three attorneys from Plunkett Cooney, including IADC member Mary Massaron.
Mary Massaron, a partner and the Appellate Law Practice Group Leader at Plunkett Cooney, served as co-editor of the book, which examines civil rights laws and the federal statute 42 USC § 1983. Also contributing three chapters to “Sword and Shield: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation” are Plunkett Cooney partner Michael S. Bogren, attorney Rhonda R. Stowers and Massaron. Attorney Edwin P. Voss, Jr. also serves as co-editor.
“This treatise offers a practical resource for those handling civil rights cases at the trial and appellate levels,” said Massaron Ross. “Past editions have been regularly cited by parties to litigation as a persuasive authority in support of their position on appeal.”
Fully updated since the Third Edition was published in 2006, the 550-page book provides advice from the nation’s leading authorities on civil rights on this technically difficult and ever-evolving area of law. It includes a discussion of municipal liability under Section 1983, including police misconduct claims (i.e., police search and seizure rules), the constitutional rights of public employees, land use and the expanded rights of property owners, students’ constitutional rights in public school settings and individual immunity defenses. It also offers a roadmap for procedural issues that arise in civil rights litigation.
A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Massaron served as President of the DRI in 2012 to 2013. She is a past chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan, DRI’s Appellate Advocacy Committee, and the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Council of Appellate Lawyers, a division of the Appellate Judges Conference. A member of the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Massaron co-chairs the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation, an organization of Michigan appellate judges and lawyers. She has an extensive appellate practice on behalf of public and private clients including in state and federal courts around the country.
Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney employs over 150 attorneys in nine Michigan cities and in Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm, which provides a range of transactional and litigation services, has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms. Plunkett Cooney has also received numerous honors as one of southeast Michigan’s top workplaces.