Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, May. 12, 2011
News from the courts
SJC Task Force issues recommendations on court officer hiring and promotion; SJC approves amendments to Appeals Court Standing Orders on the filing of certain motions, electronic notification of court orders in lieu of paper notice, governing petitions to the single justice and adopts a six month pilot program requiring appellants to file docketing statements in civil cases
The Supreme Judicial Court has
reviewed the recommendations presented in the "Action Plan for Hiring and Promotion of Court
Officers and Associate Court Officers," delivered to the court
by the SJC's Task Force on Hiring in the Judicial Branch, chaired
by former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.
The action plan outlines recommendations that the task force
believes will improve current procedures. They include implementing
best practices for attracting and employing highly qualified
individuals, restricting the use of recommendations until finalists
are selected, introducing annual performance evaluations, creating
a career path as a performance incentive, and centralizing
supervision of the hiring process.
Last December the SJC established the task force to undertake a
comprehensive review of the hiring and promotion practices in the
Judicial Branch in the wake of the abuse in the hiring and
promotion practices of the Probation Department documented in a report by Independent Counsel Paul Ware. Task
force members now will continue work on their mandate by
undertaking reviews of the remaining parts of the judiciary, while
monitoring the transformation of probation.
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SJC approves amendments to
Appeals Court Standing Order
regarding the filing of certain motions and letters
The original standing order went into
effect on May 1. Since then, the court has identified several items
that need to be modified to make the electronic filing of documents
more efficient and convenient for counsel, litigants and the court.
First, the court has revised the standing order's title to more
accurately reflect its scope, revising it to state "Standing Order
Requiring the Electronic Filing of All Motions and Letters After
Panel Assignment." Second, the court has deleted the requirement
that attorneys and self-represented litigants file both a paper
original and a PDF copy of the same document. Instead, the standing
order requires attorneys and litigants to electronically file
(i.e., e-mail) only a PDF of the document, and submit no paper
original or copies. An original or additional paper copies are not
required because the clerk's office distributes these documents
electronically to the justices. This change will benefit counsel
and self-represented parties since they will not need to incur the
costs associated with producing and mailing or delivering multiple
paper copies, and streamline the distribution mechanisms within the
court. Finally, the revised standing order states that upon motion
and a showing of good cause, the court can grant leave to file only
a paper copy in lieu of the PDF.
Click here to learn more.
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SJC approves Appeals Court
Standing Order governing electronic notification of court orders,
notices and decisions in lieu of paper notice
The Standing Order permits attorneys
and self-represented litigants to register to receive only
electronic (i.e., e-mail) notification of the court's actions,
orders, and decisions, in lieu of paper notice. To register,
attorneys and self-represented litigants must file a signed consent
form, which will be available on the Appeals Court's Web site as a
PDF form that can be filled, saved and e-mailed to the clerk's
office. The clerk's office will issue the electronic notifications
multiple times each day to registered attorneys and
self-represented litigants, while conserving its limited resources
and expenses by not printing and mailing duplicative paper notices.
The Standing Order is effective June 1.
Click here to learn more.
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SJC approves Appeals Court
Standing Order governing petitions
to the single justice pursuant to G. L. c. 231, sec.
118
These standing orders will require petitioners to file certain
documents that are essential to the single justice's screening of
both petitions for interlocutory review and motions to stay
judgments or the execution of sentences. The Standing Order is
effective June 1.
Click here to learn more.
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Appeals Court adopts six
month pilot program requiring appellants to file docketing
statments in civil cases
The Justices of the Appeals Court have proposed a pilot program
requiring appellants to file docketing statements in all civil
appeals. The docketing statement will provide the court with
important background information that will be useful not only when
the case is entered and screened, but also while it is under
consideration.
Click here to learn more.