The Massachusetts Judiciary includes the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, the Trial Court, and the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

The Supreme Judicial Court performs a fundamental role in the formation of legal principles regarding the conduct of all residents of the Commonwealth and the protection of their rights and liberties. It has original jurisdiction over certain cases and hears appeals on decisions of the Trial Court and Appeals Court. In addition to general supervision of the state judicial system and the Massachusetts Bar, the Supreme Judicial Court makes or approves rules for the procedures and administration of the courts and, under certain constitutional conditions, renders advisory opinions on important questions of law to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Executive Council. The Supreme Judicial Court also oversees the operation of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Board of Bar Examiners, and the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee.

The Appeals Court, an intermediate appellate court, handles most of the cases appealed from the departments of the Trial Court.

The Trial Court, the largest component of the Judiciary, is divided into seven departments: Superior Court, District Court, Probate and Family Court, Land Court, Boston Municipal Court, Housing Court, and Juvenile Court. It currently consists of 341 judges, including a Chief Justice within each department. The Chief Administrative Justice of the Trial Court manages over 100 individual courts, as well as the operations of the Jury Commissioner and the Commissioner of Probation.

The Weld/Cellucci Administration's proposed transfer of probation services, effective July 1, 1998, will allow the criminal justice system to function more efficiently and with greater emphasis on the continuum of offender services it manages. Important improvements will be made to the probation surrender process through which probation violators are punished; as a result, potential violators will be presented with stronger incentives to serve the terms of their probation without incident. A reserve appropriation is included in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance to assist the Trial Court, Secretary of Administration and Finance, Department of Youth Services, and Secretary of Public Safety in resolving space, personnel, and information technology issues prior to this Fiscal Year 1999 transfer of probation services.

The Committee for Public Counsel Services provides court-appointed attorneys to represent indigent defendants in court proceedings.

Budget Recommendations

The Fiscal Year 1998 budget recommendation is $451 million; this represents an increase of $17.8 million above the Fiscal Year 1997 projected spending. The Fiscal Year 1998 proposal for the Supreme Judicial Court incorporates expansion of $515,308 in a new account (0320-0000): $50,000 for the Franklin County Lab Project (a community-based model of service-oriented justice contemplated in the Reinventing Justice 2022 report), $56,900 for equipment purchases, $51,267 for an Assistant Reporter of Decisions, $6,336 for the Judicial Youth Corps (a summer internship program for high school students), and $350,805 for battered women's legal assistance services.

The proposal for the Appeals Court recommends $345,497 of expansion: $295,497 to fund additional staff resources to reflect an increased caseload, and $50,000 for a one-time expense of the purchase and upgrade of computers.

The Fiscal Year 1998 proposal for the Trial Court incorporates expansion of $7.5 million: $7 million to fund Juvenile Court Expansion, and $500,000 to fund recall judges.