Trial court to add nine new specialty courts
Trial Court Chief Justice Paula M. Carey and Court Administrator
Harry Spence have announced that the Trial Court will add nine
specialty court sessions across Massachusetts, mainly due to the $3
million designated for specialty courts in the recently approved
FY2015 state budget.
The new specialty courts include five drug courts, two mental
health courts and two veterans treatment court sessions as
follows:
Drug Court Sessions:
- Brockton District Court
- Fall River District Court
- Taunton Juvenile Court
- Dudley District Court
- Lowell District Court
Mental Health Court Sessions:
- Quincy District Court
- Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court
Veterans Treatment Court Sessions:
- Middlesex County Session at Framingham/Natick District
Court
- Western Mass. Session at Holyoke District Court
The Dudley, Lowell and Roxbury courts began conducting specialty
sessions in June, and the other locations will introduce sessions
in the coming months. The implementation schedule of these
additional sessions will vary by location, as planning and training
occurs.
Trial Court opens Court Service Centers
The Trial Court continues to expand the services it offers to
people with and without legal representation by opening the state's
first Court Service Centers at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in
Boston and the Franklin County Courthouse in Greenfield. Both
centers have helped hundreds of people since opening this
summer.
Court Service Centers offer numerous resources to the general
public and attorneys, including individual assistance with
preparing pleadings, court forms and documents, access to public
computers and workstations and interpreter services. Managed by
Trial Court employees, with assistance from trained volunteers, the
centers also provide contact information to community resources,
legal assistance programs and social service agencies. Onsite law
librarians are available to provide assistance with legal research.
The Court Service Centers are open during regular court hours: 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal
holidays.
As part of the effort to assist people coming to court without a
lawyer, the Trial Court is also offering multilingual resources
online, including a series of new self-help videos on how to
prepare for Small Claims court. The how-to videos are available in
eight languages at www.mass.gov/courts/selfhelp/.
SJC announces committee to examine voir dire
The Supreme Judicial Court has announced the formation of a
committee that will examine the jury selection process in the five
Trial Court departments that conduct jury trials. The new committee
will examine issues relating to the selection of jurors in all
trial courts that conduct jury trials and consider possible
amendments to both criminal and civil rules to improve the quality
of juror voir dire and promote the right to a fair and
impartial jury. The committee will work in conjunction with the
Superior Court to develop and recommend procedures for
implementation of the new voir dire statute before the
effective date of February 2015.
The committee is chaired by SJC Justice Barbara A. Lenk and
includes Massachusetts Bar Association President Douglas K. Sheff.
Additional members of the committee are:
- Professor David J. Breen, Boston University School of Law
- Professor R. Michael Cassidy, Boston College Law School
- Hon. John P. Corbett, Juvenile Court
- Hon. Judith Fabricant, Superior Court
- Hon. Serge Georges Jr., Boston Municipal Court
- Hon. Jennifer L. Ginsburg, District Court
- Hon. Peter Lauriat, Superior Court
- Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee, Massachusetts District
Attorneys Association
- Carolyn I. McGowan, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel
Services
- Mark. D. Smith, Esq., Boston Bar Association
- Hon. Jeffrey Winik, Housing Court
- Commissioner Pamela Wood, Office of the Jury Commissioner
SJC invites comments on Rule 1:14
The Supreme Judicial Court Rules Committee invites public
comments on proposed amendments to Supreme Judicial Court Rule
1:14. The proposed amendments reflect the enactment of the
Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, G.L. c. 190B. The proposed
revisions correct the statutory citations and include the
terminology that is used in the new statute.