The Trial Court has completed its rollout of MassCourts, a Web-based, electronic case management system, in three of the five divisions of the Housing Court Department: the Northeast division, centered in Lawrence; the Worcester division; and the Western division, centered in Springfield.
The Housing Court Department is the first to use MassCourts’ full civil and criminal capabilities. It is expected to be operating in the two remaining Housing Court divisions, one in Boston and the other centered in Plymouth and Bristol counties, by October. Thereafter, rollout efforts will turn to the Probate & Family Court.
MassCourts provides all Trial Court departments with a common, Web-based system, allowing any court employee with security clearance to review any case in the system. Rapid information recovery will be possible if a natural disaster or localized problems block access to a particular courthouse.
The rollout followed months of joint preparation by Housing Court employees under the direction of Housing Court Chief Justice Steven D. Pierce, Director of Housing Court Operations Paul J. Burke and Field Coordinator John P. Umile, and by employees of the Trial Court Information Services under the direction of Chief Information Officer Craig D. Burlingame and Project Manager Stephen J. Coppola.