In his first address to the legal community since his
confirmation as the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court
last year, Roderick L. Ireland spoke of his hopes for the judicial
branch -- including adequate funding -- and reaffirmed his
commitment to the priorities he established in December.
"The judicial branch is at a turning point," he said at the
Massachusetts Bar Association's annual Bench-Bar Symposium at the
John Adams Courthouse in Boston on Oct. 13. "How we in the
judiciary handle these changes will affect the quality of justice
in the commonwealth for years to come. We cannot be paralyzed by
unfolding events, but must embrace them as new
opportunities."
The judiciary's budget woes was the first topic Ireland addressed
in his speech. He shared the positive news that earlier in October,
the House of Representatives proposed, and the Senate agreed to, a
supplemental appropriation for the Trial Court. Ireland thanked
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray for
their support of the bill, and expressed his hope that Gov. Deval
Patrick would approve the appropriation, which he did Oct.
27.
"Legislative support for funding a fair, efficient and accessible
system of justice is particularly noteworthy in this time of severe
fiscal restraint," he said. "Fiscal year 2012 and beyond will
continue to present many challenges for the courts."
At his swearing-in ceremony in December 2010, Ireland established
three priorities for the judiciary: building bridges to the courts'
constituencies; making the courts more accessible to the public;
and educating the public, particularly the youth, about the role of
the courts. He revisited those goals during his address at the
Bench-Bar Symposium.
Building bridges
To Ireland, "building bridges" means that "everyone in
Massachusetts has a stake in the fair and efficient administration
of justice, [and] everyone has a role to play in securing that
result," he said.
He spoke of the court management legislation passed in August, the
orientation session with freshman legislators and ongoing efforts
on behalf of the judiciary to reach out to and connect with the
governor and the Legislature. Of the latter, he said, "the three
branches may not always see eye-to-eye on what is best for the
court system, but we all want what is best for the people of the
commonwealth, and the groundwork for mutual trust and cooperation
is strong."
He also spoke directly to the court staff, acknowledging that
"there are fewer of you, and … you are being asked to do more and
more with fewer resources … You are the unsung heroes of the
judicial branch. Without you, our system of justice would grind to
a halt."
Access to justice
Ireland said the judicial branch "must provide justice to the
community as we find it, not the community as we once knew it or
the community we might wish it to be."
A huge number of people come to the courts without a lawyer,
terrified of losing custody of their children or possession of
their house or apartment. Many do not speak English, or do not
speak it well.
"It is not the job of these litigants, or any litigants, to make
it easy for judges and court staff," Ireland said. "It is the duty
of the judicial branch to make our courts more welcoming … We must
make it possible for those who have been historically underserved
to find justice."
To that end, he said, information desks in three courthouses, and
more to come, are staffed with volunteers who connect court users
with attorney referral lists and provide education about limited
assistance representation. But there are not enough lawyers to go
around, and some will want to represent themselves for other
reasons. To serve those litigants, the Trial Court has received a
grant from the State Justice Institute to translate small claims
forms into multiple languages, and the Probate and Family Court
financial statement is now available in Spanish and
Portuguese.
"We cannot let fiscal constraints stop us from broadening access
to justice, and what is good for unrepresented litigants is good
for attorneys, and good for the administration of justice," he
said. "Making the Massachusetts court system more user-friendly is
not only a matter of equal justice, it's just plain good business
practice."
Educating the public
"We find ourselves at a time when few people can correctly
identify the three branches of government," Ireland said. "There is
widespread public misunderstanding about the role of judges and the
importance of an independent judiciary. I want to make the judicial
branch a force in civic education, particularly about the role of
the courts and the rule of law, and especially for young
people."
The many programs offered at the John Adams Courthouse, through
the MBA's Tiered Mentoring Program, through the Judicial Youth
Corps and other organizations, are enriching the legal profession
"in an era of increasing social, cultural and economic diversity,"
he said.
In his concluding remarks, Ireland said he has been chief justice
for less than a year, but a judge in Massachusetts for nearly 35
years.
"I can think of no higher honor, nor anything more humbling, than
to serve the people of this commonwealth by delivering justice and
upholding the rule of law," he said. "I am hopeful and confident
that the courts will weather these difficult economic times,
because every day I see people of good will working so hard to keep
our courts strong."
Cassidy Murphy is associate editor of custom
publications for The Warren Group, publisher of Massachusetts
Lawyers Journal.