The March meeting of the Massachusetts Bar Association's House
of Delegates (HOD) featured a guest address from Trial Court Chief
Justice Paula Carey, a vote on a Probate Law Section Council motion
and several reports on ongoing MBA activities.
MBA President Jeffrey Catalano began the meeting by recounting
his recent discussions with court and legislative leaders, and
shared some of his thoughts on the importance of Housing Court. He
highlighted several upcoming section programs and the MBA's Annual
Dinner on May 4, and also provided an update on the MBA's
Leadership Academy and its April training session.
During his report, MBA Chief Legal Counsel and COO Martin Healy
described the MBA's participation on a CORI-reform forum at the
John Adams Courthouse, co-hosted with MassINC and the Federal
Reserve Bank. Turning toward the state budget, Healy said the MBA
was focused on advocating for adequate funding for the courts, and
he encouraged HOD members to continue the outreach to their
legislators for funding for legal services.
Healy then introduced Carey, who thanked the MBA for its
continued support for the court and its budget, where she said
funding is needed for the specialty courts and to make the court
system more user friendly through technology upgrades. The Trial
Court chief justice also announced the expansion of limited
assistance representation to Superior Court and spoke about the
upgraded court recording system.
Vice President John Morrissey then discussed the MBA's first
program on eliminating bias, which focused on using voir dire to
identify implicit bias in jurors. He said additional programs to
address other areas of bias were expected to round out this CLE
series.
During the Probate Law Section Council report by Peter Shapland
and Colin Korzec, the HOD voted to approve in principle the Revised
Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which addresses
management of online assets.
Several other reports were given at the meeting, including:
Dispute Resolution Section Council Chair Brian Jerome talked
about the DR Section's inaugural reception, its outreach programs
to law schools and its first-ever Dispute Resolution Symposium
conference scheduled for May 19.
Attorney Christina Miller reported on the MBA's Diversity Task
Force and its Careers in Court program, which will help to
introduce diverse community members and students in Boston to
careers within the court system.
Criminal Justice Vice Chair Pauline Quirion and Civil Rights
& Social Justice council member Barbara Chorbajian talked about
the MBA's Criminal Justice Working Group, which is made up of
members from both sections and focused on criminal justice-related
topics, from fees and fines to problems at the state drug labs.
Civil Rights & Social Justice Chair Richard Cole stated that
the Immigration Working Group is looking at issues, such as legal
assistance for unaccompanied minors, ICE at courthouses, training
for new immigration attorneys and funding for legal services.