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Court and Community News

Thursday, May 6, 2021
Land Court seeks comments on proposed standing order; Legal Services Corporation's 2022 Basic Field Grant pre-application and renewal application now available; Judicial vacancies open for applications

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Land Court seeks comments on proposed standing order

The Land Court invites comments on a new proposed Land Court Standing Order: Remedies for Void Provisions Under Chapter 184, § 23B.

The justices of the Land Court have proposed this standing order to establish a judicial avenue for interested parties to seek determinations and remedies concerning land instruments and documents containing provisions made void by the operation of Chapter 184, § 23B (referred to as “Prohibited Restrictions”). That statute declares void any “provision in an instrument relating to real property which purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease thereof to individuals of a specified race, color, religion, national origin or sex” with a limited exception for real property held by a religious or denominational institution or organization.

In connection with the promulgation of the proposed standing order, the Land Court chief title examiner will issue a memorandum concerning the implementation of the Standing Order and new registered land policies related thereto. The proposed memorandum provides that in cases where a Prohibited Restriction is set forth on the face of, or referenced in, the certificate of title or memorandum of condominium unit ownership, the land registration district personnel shall prepare a new certificate of title or memorandum of condominium unit ownership without inclusion of the express language of the Prohibited Restriction.

Click here for the full notice inviting comment. Comments should be sent by email to Lauren Reznick, Assistant Deputy Court Administrator-Legal Counsel, Administrative Office of the Land Court, at Lauren.Reznick@jud.state.ma.us on or before June 4. Comments received will be made available to the public upon written request.

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Legal Services Corporation's 2022 Basic Field Grant pre-application and renewal application now available

The Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) 2022 Basic Field Grant pre-application and renewal application are now open in GrantEase. LSC's Basic Field Grants provide funding to support delivery of high-quality civil legal services and access to justice to low-income people throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories through full-service grants for all eligible people in a service area and through specialized subpopulation grants to provide services for agricultural workers and their dependants or for people in Native American communities.

Click here to see instructions on how to submit your 2022 grant application by July 2, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). Visit the GrantEase training page for more information on completing a 2022 Basic Field grant application and see the 2022 Basic Field Grant RFP here.
 
LSC will host an informational webinar on the Basic Field Grant application and Subgrant application process on Tuesday, May 25, at 2 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) /11 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time). Please click here to register for the 2021 Basic Field Grant webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to participate in the webinar.

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Judicial vacancies open for applications

The Judicial Nominating Commission is currently accepting applications for the following judicial vacancies:

Juvenile Court — Worcester
Hon. Deborah A.S. Capuano
(Oct. 19, 2020)
Application deadline: Friday, May 14, at noon

 
Probate and Family Court
Hon. Arthur C. Ryley  
(Sept. 20, 2021)
Application deadline: Friday, May 21, at noon


Click here for application instructions.

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