Section 11H. (a)(1) Whenever any person or persons, whether or not acting under color of law, interfere by threats, intimidation or coercion, or attempt to interfere by threats, intimidation or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any other person or persons of rights secured by the constitution or laws of the United States, or of rights secured by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth, the attorney general may bring a civil action for injunctive or other appropriate equitable relief in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured. Said civil action shall be brought in the name of the commonwealth and shall be instituted either in the superior court for the county in which the conduct complained of occurred or in the superior court for the county in which the person whose conduct complained of resides or has his principal place of business.

Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 12 sec. 11H

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.

(2) If the attorney general prevails in an action under this section, the attorney general shall be entitled to: (i) an award of compensatory damages for any aggrieved person or entity; and (ii) litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees in an amount to be determined by the court. In a matter involving the interference or attempted interference with any right protected by the constitution of the United States or of the commonwealth, the court may also award civil penalties against each defendant in an amount not exceeding $5,000 for each violation.

(b) All persons shall have the right to bias-free professional policing. Any conduct taken in relation to an aggrieved person by a law enforcement officer acting under color of law that results in the decertification of said law enforcement officer by the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission pursuant to section 10 of chapter 6E shall constitute interference with said person’s right to bias-free professional policing and shall be a prima facie violation of said person’s right to bias-free professional policing and a prima facie violation of subsection (a). No law enforcement officer shall be immune from civil liability for any conduct under color of law that violates a person’s right to bias-free professional policing if said conduct results in the law enforcement officer’s decertification by the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission pursuant to section 10 of chapter 6E; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to grant immunity from civil liability to a law enforcement officer for interference by threat, intimidation or coercion, or attempted interference by threats, intimidation or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment any right secured by the constitution or laws of the United States or the constitution or laws of the commonwealth if the conduct of said officer was knowingly unlawful or was not objectively reasonable.

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