Federal courts
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
announces attorney admission form
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
First Circuit, which is located at the John Joseph Moakley U.S.
Courthouse, announced that it has instituted an attorney admission
form to comply with a recent policy adopted by the Judicial
Conference of the United States.
The application for attorneys
seeking admission to the bar of the First Circuit Court of Appeals
will cost $200 and is effective immediately, the court announced
June 19. The policy was approved, in part, to gain "sufficient
information to allow the court to verify the state bar admission
status of an applicant.
Massachusetts courts
Attleboro District Court reopened July
27; jury trials relocated
The Attleboro District Court and
Juvenile Court resumed operations on July 27 at its North Main
Street location after a May 18 fire closed the court for more than
two months. A fire restoration company cleaned and sealed off
the damaged areas of the courthouse on the top floor and an
assessment of the electrical service has determined that the
building is safe for occupancy by the staff and the public.
All Attleboro District Court
business resumed at the Attleboro District Court - with the
exception of jury trials. Civil jury trials will be held at the
Wrentham District Court for trial and criminal jury trials will be
at the Taunton District Court. Anyone with any questions may call
the Attleboro District Court at (508) 222-5900 for further
instructions.
Wrentham District Court: 60 East St.
in Wrentham, (508) 384-3106.
Taunton District Court: 120 Cohannet
St. in Taunton, (508) 977-6156.
Taunton Juvenile Court: 9 Court St. in Taunton (Taunton Superior
Court building), (508) 824-0609.
Natick District Court to relocate
Chief Justice for Administration and
Management Robert A. Mulligan has announced that the Massachusetts
Trial Court will relocate the Natick District Court by the end of
September.
The Administrative Office of the
Trial Court has advised the Town of Natick that the court will
terminate its lease at the town building when the existing lease
expires on Sept. 30.
The Natick District Court has
jurisdiction for civil and criminal matters in Natick and Sherborn.
Most of the court's business will be handled by the Framingham
Division of the District Court located at 600 Concord St. in
Framingham. The judges and staff for the Natick division will
relocate to manage the caseload. The temporary relocation is an
expense reduction measure in response to the statewide economic
decline, which has severely impacted the commonwealth's fiscal 2010
budget.
Transition planning is underway. New contact information will be
announced.
Interim guidelines approved for protecting personal data in
public court documents
The justices of the Supreme Judicial
Court recently approved interim guidelines designed to protect
against identity theft by having court filers omit or delete
certain personal identifying information, such as Social Security
numbers, in criminal and civil court documents. The Guidelines for
the Protection of Personal Identifying Data (PID) in Publicly
Accessible Court Documents are nonbinding and take effect on Sept.
1, 2009.
The interim guidelines apply only to
court documents that are publicly available. It is solely the
filer's responsibility to delete or omit data. The guidelines
contain a number of exemptions for situations when personal
information may be necessary to include in documents because it is
required by law or court rules or for other specific reasons.
The interim guidelines
(www.mass.gov/courts/press/interim-guidelines.pdf) and a summary
fact sheet (www.mass.gov/courts/press/pid-summary0709.pdf) are
available in court clerks' offices statewide.
Notice of proposed amendments to Rule 11 of the Mass. Rules of
Civil Procedure and Rule 20 of the Mass. Rules of Appellate
Procedure
The Supreme Judicial Court's
Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure invites
comments on proposed amendments to Rule 11 of the Massachusetts
Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 20 of the Massachusetts Rules of
Appellate Procedure.
The proposed amendment to Mass. R.
Civ. P. 11 (a) would require attorneys and self-represented
litigants to include their e-mail addresses, if any, on pleadings.
Providing an e-mail address does not indicate consent to filing or
service by e-mail. Similarly, Mass. R.A.P. 20 (a)(4) would be
amended to require attorneys to include their e-mail addresses, if
any, on briefs.
After reviewing the comments
submitted, the Standing Advisory Committee will make its
recommendations to the Supreme Judicial Court with respect to the
proposed amendments.
CMAB report commends courts' progress
The Court Management Advisory Board
recognized the "continuing progress" made by the Trial Court
Department since sweeping reforms were ushered in after the Monan
Report was issued in 2003.
CMAB released its annual report
evaluating the Trial Courts' ongoing implementation of court
reforms, "commends Chief Justice for Administration and Management
Robert A. Mulligan, his leadership team, and the Trial Court
judges, clerks and staff for their tremendous dedication to the
initiatives undertaken during 2008," including the:
-
Third year of court metrics;
-
Steady and successful rollout of
MassCourts;
-
Implementation of the Access and
Fairness Survey Project across the system; and
-
Piloting of the Case File Integrity
Project.
The report also noted that
the collection of important data is allowing the courts to improve
its planning and decision-making: "The value of the data will
continue to enable more effective strategic planning, as the court
system addresses the major fiscal issues confronting the state in
FY10 and FY11."
Probate and Family Court announce changes
The Probate and Family Court
announced changes to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure,
Rules of Appellate Procedure, Trial Court Rules, Rules of the
Superior Court, and the General Rules of the Probate Court that
became effective July 1, 2009.
In addition, the Probate and Family
Court announced changes to the Uniform Practices of Probate Courts
of Massachusetts, as well as changes and additions to the standing
orders of the Probate and Family Court that also became effective
July 1, 2009.
These changes were recommended by
the MUPC Implementation Committee's Article V Working Group,
circulated for comment, approved by Chief Justice Paula M. Carey,
and were recently approved and promulgated by the Supreme Judicial
Court and Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert A.
Mulligan.
Fitchburg District Court designated Gelinas Courthouse to honor
judicial legacy
The Fitchburg District Court was
designated as the Gelinas Courthouse on June 16 in honor of the
contributions of the late Hon. A. Andre Gelinas and the Hon. Andre
A. Gelinas to the judiciary, bar and civic affairs of Fitchburg for
more than 85 years.
Judge Andre A. Gelinas served on the
Massachusetts Appeals Court from 1999 to 2008 after serving as a
district court judge since 1979. He now serves as the special
advisor to the chief justice for administration and management for
information technology.
His late father, Hon. A. Andre Gelinas, was appointed in 1931 as
a special justice of the Fitchburg District Court and later served
as assistant district attorney and district attorney in Worcester
County. In 1924, he founded the law firm Gelinas & Ward.