|
SJC Chief Justice Margaret
H. Marshall Urges Major Reform
in Courts' Administration of Justice; Challenges Bar and
Community Leaders To Offer Expertise
Boston—Calling
for “a revolution
in the administration of justice,” Supreme Judicial Court
Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall today announced that she
will be enlisting support from the “best minds in the Commonwealth”
to examine and recommend ways to improve the governance of
the Massachusetts court system.
In
her keynote address at the Massachusetts Bar Association’s
annual meeting at the Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel this
afternoon, Chief Justice Marshall said, “my plan is to make
sure that we will be able to say with confidence that the
administration of the courts is significantly advanced and
is compatible with 21st century management practices.”
While
emphasizing that the quality of decision-making in Massachusetts
is “unsurpassed in any other state,” Chief Justice Marshall
said that the administration of justice needs improvement.
Despite court reform efforts in past decades, she said court
governance and management must be strengthened to meet today’s
complex challenges.
“I
aim to meet one goal and one goal only: enhancing the quality
of justice in Massachusetts,” said Chief Justice Marshall.The
Chief Justice said basic management tools must be better employed
by the courts, such as the use of “staffing models” to deploy
qualified court personnel where they are needed and to assure
that courts are adequately staffed to serve the public’s needs. She said she will ask the Legislature to extend
the statutory authority enabling the Judiciary to transfer
funds within the Trial Court as a more effective way to manage
the court budget. She also supports the request made by the Chief
Justice for Administration and Management to the Legislature
for supplemental funding for essential services of the Trial
Court this fiscal year.
“The
ability to use funds where they are most needed is a critical
tool we must have in this time of tight budgetary restraints,”
said Chief Justice Marshall.
Since
becoming Chief Justice two years ago, Chief Justice Marshall
said she has listened to numerous people inside and outside
the judicial branch and will draw on their expertise
and support “to craft a governance management structure that
is worthy of the people of the Commonwealth.”
She said that many people she has met are “eager to
join a revolution in the administration of justice.” She also
said that her life experience has taught her that “revolutions
are not made overnight” and that “they are not for people
who sit on the sidelines.”
Chief
Justice Marshall also addressed the “severe fiscal crisis”
facing the Massachusetts court system and the other branches
of government, as well as the private sector, in the current
economic recession. She noted that many other states’ court
systems are also experiencing underfunding and are being forced
to make drastic cuts in operations.
The Chief Justice said that although significant cost
saving measures have been taken by the Administrative Office
of the Trial Court in the past several months, court positions
will be eliminated this fiscal year to offset the budget deficiency. Although the Chief Justice said the number
of necessary layoffs is presently unknown, she emphasized
the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court are “adamant that
layoffs be made in a principled, structured fashion that minimizes
the effect of these reductions on the Trial Courts’ operations.
”The
Chief Justice also stated, “We must and we will ensure that
the Judiciary is able to fulfill its constitutional mission
whatever the status of the state’s economy.”
Chief
Justice Marshall ended her remarks optimistically by stating
that the Judiciary has overcome challenges in the past and
will do so again. She said, “With the continued good will
of the people we serve, and with the cooperation and understanding
of our co-equal branches of government, our Judiciary will
remain strong, and grow stronger, in service to its constitutional
mission. We must not, and we will not, fail,” she concluded.
|
