Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Apr. 21, 2011
Photograph by
Bill Archambeault
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (right) was joined by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland to announce the filing of legislation to overhaul the court system's management.
Breaking News: Speaker DeLeo and SJC announce sweeping court reorganization
Today House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo was joined by Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland to announce the
filing of legislation to overhaul the court system's
management.
The legislation signals an enormous victory for the
Massachusetts Bar Association who has lobbied for court management
reforms for decades. The legislation proposed by DeLeo closely
mirrors recommendations contained in the MBA's independently
commissioned 1991 Harbridge House Report and the 2003 MBA Court Study Task Force Report
to employ a civilian, non-judicial court administrator to
manage the business operations of the Trial Court, while keeping
judicial responsibilities with a newly created position of Chief
Justice of the Trial Court.
The joint announcement of the legislation's filing marks an
unprecedented cooperation between the Legislative and Judicial
branches who have often struggled for control of the court
system.
The bill also proposes to employ civilian mangers to serve as
deputy court administrators for each of the trial court's seven
departments. Additionally, the bill proposes to keep the Probation
Department with the Judiciary and adopts a series of hiring and
promotional reforms for the department.
Click here to read the bill summary. Click here to see the full bill.
Read DeLeo's statement here.