SJC Justice Sides With DA Rachael Rollins In Dispute With Boston Judge

A justice of Massachusetts' highest court is ruling in favor of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins in her office's high-profile dispute with Boston Municipal Court Judge Richard Sinnott.

Last week, prosecutors tried to drop cases against some people arrested while protesting the so-called "Straight Pride" parade, but Judge Sinnott refused to do so. Rollins filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Judicial Court highlighting one case in particular.

In a ruling today, SJC Justice Frank Gaziano sided with Rollins, writing, "the prosecutor's sole authority to determine which cases to prosecute, and when not to pursue a prosecution, has been affirmed repeatedly by this court since the beginning of the nineteenth century."

Judge Sinnot declined a request for comment.

Rachael Rollins, Suffolk County District Attorney. She Tweets @DARollins.