Trial Court to celebrate renaming of Hampden County Hall of Justice as the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse, Nov. 10
The Massachusetts Trial Court will celebrate the renaming of the Hampden County Hall of Justice as the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse on Friday, November 10 at 3:30 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall.
Wayne A. Budd, a former U.S. Attorney (District of Massachusetts), and current senior counsel at Goodwin Proctor, will serve as master of ceremonies. Those expected to speak at the event include Governor Charlie Baker, Speaker of the Massachusetts House Robert A. DeLeo, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, former state representative Benjamin Swan, and state representative Russell E. Holmes, former chair of the Black & Latino Caucus.
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, Trial Court Chief Justice Paula M. Carey, and Hon. Roderick L. Ireland (ret.) are also expected to deliver remarks.
Hon. Roderick L. Ireland, a Springfield native, was Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court from 2010 to 2014. When he was appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court as an associate justice in 1997, he became the first African-American to sit on the court, and in 2010, when he was appointed Chief Justice, the court’s first African-American Chief Justice.
Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Judicial Court, Ireland presided as a judge on the Appeals Court from 1990 to 1997, and before that as a Boston Juvenile Court judge, from 1977 to 1990. When he retired in 2014, he had served as a judge for 37 years.
Since his retirement, he has taken a position on the faculty of Northeastern University as a distinguished professor of criminology and criminal justice.
Massachusetts Trial Court to hold event recognizing official launch of Franklin Family Drug Court MISSION-Hope Grant, Nov. 10
The Massachusetts Trial Court will hold an event announcing the official launch of the MISSION-Hope Grant, a $2.1 million, five-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Friday, November 10, at the Franklin County Justice Center in Greenfield. The grant will significantly expand services offered by the Franklin County Probate and Family Drug Court.
Trial Court Chief Justices and judges, Congressman James McGovern, Congressman Richard Neal, Senate President Stan Rosenberg and other local and community officials are expected to attend.
The family drug court, which began in June 2016 and is one of the first of its kind in the commonwealth, addresses the impact of opioid, other substance use, and co-occurring disorders on families in rural western Massachusetts. The MISSION-Hope grant will allow the specialty court to expand by 300 percent, and provide more services to parents, children and caregivers in need in a county that has been deeply affected by the opiate crisis.
The MISSION model, Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach and Networking-Criminal Justice (MISSION-CJ), is an evidence-based treatment model that offers a team approach to provide or connect court-involved families with services, including substance use disorder treatment, educational and job training opportunities, childcare and other community-based resources that support families based on each family's individual needs. Referrals of parents and guardians with substance use disorders from the Franklin/Hampshire Juvenile Court are also part of this effort.
Superior Court seeking research attorneys
The Massachusetts Superior Court seeks to fill research attorney positions for multiple courthouse locations in eastern and western Massachusetts, including Boston, Springfield, and Worcester. These are professional, permanent positions within the Superior Court. Research attorneys assist the Justices of the Superior Court with legal research, writing, and analysis. Research attorneys prepare draft decisions, research memoranda, and other documents; analyze and research specific legal issues and questions for the judges and the administrative office; and may assist in the training and oversight of other legal research staff and interns. Starting salary for the position is $70,747.42/year.
Requirements include membership in the Massachusetts bar and excellent writing, communication, and legal research skills. Preferred qualifications include two years of post-law school experience in the litigation context as of September 2018, and prior judicial clerkship experience, particularly as a Massachusetts Superior Court law clerk.
Applications are due by November 27. For more information, including application instructions, view the position posting here.