Section 23.000
Policies and Procedures Manual
Human Resources Department

23.000 POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR EMERGENCY CANCELLATION OF COURT

This policy on emergency cancellation of court supersedes the policy promulgated on January 2, 1996.

In accordance with G.L. c. 220, s. 6, the courts of the Commonwealth are required to be open for court business on all days excepts Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. All employees of the Trial Court are expected to report for work on all regularly scheduled workdays. However, in cases of extreme weather conditions or other emergency, courts may need to be closed. This will be done only in circumstances where the safety of the public and Trial Court Judges and employees is jeopardized.

If the First Justice of a division of a Trial Court Department, or, in his or her absence, the judge in charge of the courthouse, determines that it is necessary to adjourn a session or close a court, or any office within the court, before or during the workday, due to severe weather conditions or other emergency, he or she must obtain approval for such closure from:

(a) the Regional Administrative Justice, in the District Court Department;
(b) the Chief Justice, in all Departments not having Regional Administrative Justices.

In divisions of the Superior Court Department, the Clerk must seek such permission to close the court from the Chief Justice of the Department, or, the Regional Administrative Justice if the Chief Justice of the Superior Court delegates the authority to make such decisions to the Regional Administrative Justice.

No other person at a local court is authorized to seek the closure of the court or any office in it.

In courthouses containing more than one Department of the Trial Court, the judges authorized to close courts, sessions, or offices, or to seek such approval as described above, must consult with their counterparts in the other Departments so that the determination to close or seek closure is uniform.

As soon as feasible, the Regional Administrative Judge who has approved such closure shall inform the Chief Justice of his or her Department, in writing, of the reasons for closure. Such notice should be given not later than the close of business on the day following closure.

The Chief Justice for Administration and Management shall be informed of the decision to close a court as soon as possible before or after such closure and reserves the right to close courts and court offices in severe weather conditions or in cases of other emergency.

If the decision to close a court is made before the beginning of the workday, it is the obligation of the judge or Departmental Chief Justice making that decision to ensure that employees of the court are informed of the decision. It is also the obligation of that judge to inform local law enforcement officials how he or she can be reached for emergency matters, including abuse prevention proceedings.

If court is closed before the beginning or during the workday, employees will be considered to have worked that day. If court is open and an employee is unable to get to work or decides not to go to work, the employee must use accrued vacation, personal or compensatory time to cover their absence. If such an employee has no accrued leave of those kinds, he or she will be removed from the payroll for that day. Absent illness, an employee may not use accrued sick leave to cover absence due to severe weather conditions.

Any announcement by the Governor that nonessential state employees should remain at home due to weather conditions does not apply to the employees of the Trial Court. The closing of any court by the Governor may be ordered by the Governor only through a declaration of emergency pursuant to the Civil Defense Act.

Every effort will be made to inform local radio and television stations so that they can announce court closures for the benefit of employees and members of the public. Each Departmental Chief Justice and Regional Administrative Justice should make every effort to inform the Chief Justice for Administration and Management of a court closure so that such announcements can be arranged in a timely fashion.

In addition, every reasonable effort will be made by the Administrative Office of the Trial Court to alert employees of such closures by leaving a recorded message on a recording machine that can be accessed by dialing 1-800-222-5178 or (617)-742-8383.

Any announcement that jurors are not required to report to court on a given day does not effect whether or not employees must report to work. The juror cancellation policy is outlined in the memorandum from the Chief Justice for Administration and Management to the Departmental Chief Justices dated November 25, 1997.

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