Supreme Judicial Court justices appoint clerk for the
commonwealth
The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court have appointed Francis
V. Kenneally as clerk for the commonwealth as provided in G. L. c.
221, s. 1., effective Nov. 6. The appointment fills a vacancy
following the recent retirement of clerk Susan Mellen. Jane
Kenworthy Lewis served as acting clerk for the commonwealth from
Aug. 1 to Nov. 6.
The clerk for the commonwealth is the head of the public office
that manages all aspects of bringing cases before the highest
appellate court in the commonwealth. The office is responsible for
the SJC's appellate caseload, attending sessions of the full court,
maintaining the docket, processing all pertinent filings and
serving as the court's liaison to the parties or their counsel,
among other duties.
Kenneally was the first assistant clerk of the Supreme Judicial
Court for Suffolk County. Prior to his appointment to the court, he
was principal and founder of the Kenneally Law Office, where his
practice included representation of indigent criminal defendants in
the Boston Municipal Court through Suffolk Lawyers for Justice
Inc., civil litigation in construction cases, appeals, corporate
law, probate and estate matters, real estate transactions and
zoning and land use matters.
Worcester Trial Court Complex to be site of recidivism
reduction pilot program
The Trial Court of Massachusetts has announced that the Worcester
Trial Court Complex will be the site of a high-intensity pilot
program designed to reduce recidivism among probationers at high
risk to re-offend.
Based on a successful national model first started in Hawaii, (the
Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement, known as HOPE) the
pilot program in Worcester will be the first state-funded program
of its kind in Massachusetts, and will operate for two years.
This program will replicate the federally funded project known as
Massachusetts Offender Recidivism Reduction or MORR, a
demonstration project that has been in operation at the Ruane
Judicial Center in Salem since 2012. Massachusetts is one of four
such sites across the United States participating in a rigorous
evaluation of the HOPE model.
Like the project in Salem, both the District and Superior courts
will participate in the program in Worcester. Superior Court Chief
Justice Barbara J. Rouse, District Court Chief Justice Paul C.
Dawley and Probation Commissioner Edward J. Dolan will convene a
steering committee composed of all stakeholders to guide the
Worcester implementation of the program. Visit www.mass.gov/courts
to learn more.
Land Court LAR training to come
In January 2013, the Land Court announced the issuance of Standing
Order 1-12, Limited Assistance Representation (LAR). LAR is the
unbundling of legal services and offers litigants the option of
hiring an LAR qualified attorney for specific, limited case events
as agreed between the attorney and client, instead of the standard
full representation on an entire case. With LAR, litigants can
engage an attorney for part of the case - a crucial event, like the
case management conference or a motion to dismiss - and thereby
receive the benefits of legal representation that otherwise may be
cost prohibitive.
To appear as an LAR attorney, the attorney must be qualified by
completing an approved and important training program. The court
has been working with the Massachusetts Bar Association to create
LAR training tailored to Land Court practice. Look for information
about an upcoming training, featuring the Hon. Robert B. Foster, on
www.massbar.org.
Amendments to Rule 43 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal
Procedure
The Supreme Judicial Court has approved amendments to Rule 43 of
the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure, effective Jan. 1,
2014.
Visit www.mass.gov/courts/sjc to view reporter's
notes and notice of the change.