Probate and Family Court now offers child support help
online
The Probate and Family Court, the Massachusetts Justice Project
and collaborators have announced the availability of a new online
resource that will help self-represented litigants more easily
complete court forms in child support cases. The other partners are
the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, South Coastal Counties
Legal Services Inc. and the Trial Court Access to Justice
Initiative.
With the help of a Technology Initiative Grant from the Legal
Services Corporation, the Massachusetts Justice Project, in
collaboration with the Probate and Family Court and the other
partners, has created a series of free online interviews that help
self-represented litigants accurately complete the court forms
needed to file cases seeking establishment, enforcement or
modification of a child support order or an answer to any of these
complaints.
The interviews, supporting educational videos and written content
can be accessed at www.masslegalhelp.org/legal-forms. Users proceed
through a series of questions, and the answers to the questions are
used to prepare forms and instructions. A Spanish translation of
these interviews will be available this summer.
Proposed amendments to Rule 43 of the Rules of Criminal
Procedure
The Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Advisory Committee on the
Rules of Criminal Procedure invites comments on proposed amendments
to Rule 43 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure. The
committee undertook its review of Rule 43 as a result of the
Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Vizcaino v.
Commonwealth, 462 Mass. 266 (2012). The committee unanimously
recommends that Rule 43 be clarified to minimize confusion
concerning when and how a judge may impose summary punishment for
criminal contempt or, alternatively, refer an alleged contemnor for
prosecution by complaint or indictment under Rule 44. To view the
proposed amendments, visit
www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/comment-rule-43.html.
The committee welcomes all comments pertaining to the issues
raised and will make recommendations to the Supreme Judicial Court
after reviewing the comments submitted.