Chief Justice Connolly to retire from bench in March
Chief Justice Lynda M. Connolly of the District Court Department
has announced she will be retiring from the judiciary next March.
She has accepted an appointment at Simmons College, where she will
be overseeing the pre-law advising program.
"It has been my privilege and pleasure every day of the last 15
years to serve as a Justice of the District Court and every day of
the last eight-and-a-half years to serve as chief justice,"
Connolly said. "One of my passions is higher education, and I look
forward to joining in Simmons's mission, particularly its important
work educating young women for professional careers."
Connolly has enjoyed a distinguished career in the judiciary. She
was appointed as an associate justice of the Marlborough District
Court in 1997 by Gov. William F. Weld. She subsequently served as
acting first justice of the Charlestown District Court, now a
division of the Boston Municipal Court. In 2003, she was appointed
as the first justice of the Dedham District Court. A year later,
Chief Justice Robert A. Mulligan appointed her as the chief justice
of the District Court Department and reappointed her in 2009 for a
second five-year term, which expires in 2014. Throughout her
tenure, she has served on many court committees, including as chair
of the Trial Court's Budget Advisory Committee, co-chair of the
Trial Court Fiscal Task Force and the Trial Court Relocation
Committee and recently as a member of the Supreme Judicial Court
Search Committee for the Court Administrator. In 2008, the
Massachusetts Bar Association and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
awarded Connolly The Daniel F. Toomey Excellence in the Judiciary
Award.
"Chief Justice Connolly has done a superb job leading the Trial
Court's largest department," Mulligan said. "She is highly
respected as a judge and has led the District Court with
competence, steadiness and vision. I know that I speak for the
departmental chiefs and all who work in the District Court and the
entire Trial Court in saying that we will miss her greatly and wish
her the very best in her next endeavor."
In addition to her judicial duties, Connolly has served as an
adjunct professor since 1981 at numerous universities, including
New England School of Law, Suffolk University Law School, Boston
College, Bentley College and as a guest lecturer at Harvard
University's Kennedy School of Government and at the Harvard School
of Public Health.
Connolly is a graduate of Boston College Law School and the
College of William and Mary.
Associate Court Administrator appointed
Court Administrator Harry Spence appointed Christopher Fox to
serve as his Associate Court Administrator. Fox began his position
on Monday, Nov. 19 and will focus on process improvement, the use
of data to enhance court operations and other key court improvement
initiatives. The department directors in the Office of Court
Management will continue to report to Harry Spence.
Notice of proposed amendments to local rules
Notice of Proposed Amendments to Local Rule 22.1(e) and
Rule 27.0(c)
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit hereby
provides notice that it proposes the minor amendments to Local Rule
22.1(e) and Rule 27.0(c) necessitated by past rule changes. The
second sentence of Local Rule 22.1(e) is corrected to
cross-reference Local Rule 22.1(a), rather than former Local Rule
22.2(a). The requirement in Local Rule 27.0(c) that motions for
summary disposition be accompanied by "four copies of a memorandum
or brief" is stricken. Fed. R. App. P. 27(a)(2)(C) currently
requires that legal arguments be made in the body of a motion,
rather than in a separate brief or memorandum, and, with the advent
of electronic case filing, this court no longer requires paper
copies of motions.
Notice of Proposed Amendments to Local Rule 33.0(a) and
(f)
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit hereby
provides notice thatit proposes amendments to subsections (a) and
(f) of the Civil Appeals Management Plan, incorporated into the
First Circuit local rules as Local Rule 33.0(a) and (f). Additions
are noted in italic print; deletions are noted in strikeout
print.
The changes are being proposed to bring the local rule into
conformity with current practice. Currently, settlement counsel
sends notice to litigants about CAMP rather than the Clerk of the
Court of Appeals. Further, Social Security appeals and petitions
for review from orders of the Board of Immigration Appeals are not
currently included as part of the program.
The proposed amendment would not preclude a judge or panel from
referring such a case to settlement counsel.
The Court of Appeals invites public comment on both sets of
proposed amendments. Comments should be received by Jan. 11, 2013
and addressed to:
Office of the Clerk
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2500
Boston, MA 02210