Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013
News from the courts
Extended hours pilot at the Brooke Courthouse
The Massachusetts Trial Court has
announced the commencement of a pilot program extending the hours
in three court departments operating sessions at the Brooke
Courthouse in Boston.
This program is designed to assess, over a period of time, the
usefulness of extended court hours as a convenience for certain
segments of the public. Effective Feb. 26, the Boston Municipal
Court, Housing Court and Probate and Family Court departments will
begin conducting certain limited court sessions on two Tuesdays
each month until 7 p.m. The dates for the first several months are
as follows: Tuesday, Feb. 26; Tuesday, March 12; Tuesday, March 26;
Tuesday, April 9 and Tuesday, April 23.
The purpose of this pilot is to make the court available to
members of the public during late afternoon and early evening
hours. The sessions will be limited to specifically-designated case
types. All matters will be pre-scheduled and/or by agreement of the
parties.
The Clerks' Offices and Registry of Probate will not be open to
the public during the extended hours. Those offices will staff the
sessions, as needed. Emergency matters occurring weekday evenings
from 4:30 p.m. to the opening of court at 8:30 a.m., or on weekends
or holidays will continue to be processed through the Judicial
Response System as accessed through the local police departments.
Information regarding the types of matters that will be available
for this pilot, their scheduling and courtroom locations will be
posted to www.Mass.Gov/Courts by court department, or the
courts can be reached as follows:
- Boston Municipal Court: (617) 788-8600
- Boston Housing Court: (617) 788-8485
- Suffolk Probate and Family Court: (617) 788-8300
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