League of Women Voters Lexington First Friday

League of Women Voters of Lexington

First Friday November 3, 2023

Meet Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan

Hear DA Ryan discuss her work as DA and the challenge of misinformation/disinformation in these difficult times.

Across the country, and in our state, there is a new understanding of the importance of local and statewide elected offices in shaping government and preserving our democracy. This is especially true of the office of District Attorney here in Massachusetts and across the land.

The next League of Women Voters, Lexington First Friday program will take place on Friday November 3, 2023, 9:30 AM, at the Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421.

The program will introduce Middlesex DA Marian Ryan and highlight her important work serving the largest county in New England, covering 54 cities and towns. The office represents Massachusetts in many cases in 11 district courts, 4 juvenile courts, and 2 superior courts located throughout the county.

District Attorney Marian Ryan is well known for her innovative work confronting racial injustice, reducing unfair judicial practices, addressing the opioid crisis, supporting immigration, and pioneering restorative justice—among her many priorities and accomplishments. During her tenure, the DA Office has created many of the best-in-class crime prevention programs as well as a Cold Case Unit that has delivered justice and answers in decades’-old crimes. But recently DA Marian Ryan has set out to confront one of the most challenging problems of our time: the rise in disinformation/misinformation and the challenge to young and old to fact check information and differentiate truth from falsehood. “If we lose the ability to accept objective facts,” she said “it eats away at our democracy.” District Attorney Ryan grew up in Somerville and is a summa cum laude graduate of Emmanuel College and a cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School.

This program is the third in the 2023-2024 LWV First Friday Forum series hosted by the League of Women Voters to promote awareness and understanding of public policy issues. There will be time for Q&A after the program.

For more information about the League and this program go to https://my.lwv.org/massachusetts.lexington.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization dedicated to the principles of self-government established in the Constitution of the United States. The League works to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. For more information, contact the League convener Margaret Coppe at mecoppe@gmail.com.

All Lexington League forums are free and open to the public.