Boston, MA --- Calling the Trial Court Staffing Model Study "a significant milestone in our efforts to improve the administration of justice," Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan today issued the first Staffing Model Report produced by Trial Court judges and staff from all seven departments of the Trial Court in conjunction with the National Center for State Courts. The Report will be used by Chief Justice Mulligan to assess staffing needs for trial courts throughout the state and to allocate necessary resources to court divisions.

The need for an objective, systematic, data-driven basis for allocating resources to the court divisions in a fair and equitable manner was highlighted in the 2003 Visiting Committee on Management in the Courts (Monan Committee) Report, which recommended systemic court management improvements. In response, Chief Justice Mulligan established the development of a court staffing model as a top priority when he assumed the position of Chief Justice for Administration and Management in October 2003.

          "This Staffing Model Report is a tremendous achievement by many judges, clerks, and employees in all seven departments of the Trial Court who enthusiastically undertook the painstaking process of developing a rational staffing plan to help us allocate resources equitably to courts statewide," said Chief Justice Mulligan.

          Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall said, "The Staffing Model provides a vital management tool to guide us in allocating critical resources to trial courts in need and for submitting budget requests to the Executive and Legislative branches. With the completion of this Study, we have now achieved two major management goals that we set out to accomplish in the wake of the Monan Report - the establishment of time standards in every trial court department and the formulation of a staffing model. With Chief Justice Mulligan's guidance, the Trial Court judges and staff should be enormously proud of their achievements thus far, as we continue to pursue other important management initiatives."

          Under the leadership of the departmental Chief Justices, Court Staff Model Working Groups were established in each trial court department to coordinate the development of the staffing models. Based on the recommendations of the National Center for State Courts, the working groups adopted the Delphi method for developing the staffing models. This approach is based on the expert opinions of experienced court employees, along with objective data on the volume and type of case filings, for the development of a staffing model that takes into account both the volume of cases and the varying complexities of different types of cases.

          Chief Justice Mulligan praised the members of the Working Groups "for rolling up their sleeves and tackling head-on the challenges associated with producing the staffing models." He said that he was particularly pleased that the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court Departments were able to collaborate in the development of a joint court staffing model. Chief Justice Mulligan also acknowledged the "behind the scenes" hard work of the AOTC Human Resources staff in providing technical assistance, helping to maintain consistency across trial court departments in the assumptions underlying the staffing models, and otherwise supporting the working groups in completing their work.

Chief Justice Mulligan thanked Christopher Ryan, the national court staffing model expert from the National Center for State Courts in Denver, Colorado, for his guidance and insights throughout the process and particularly for his expertise in helping to produce such an excellent court staffing model report in a timely manner.

          Mr. Ryan said that he was impressed with the positive attitude, energy and professionalism of the Working Groups in developing the staffing models. He specifically recognized the cooperation of the clerks, assistant clerks, and clerical staff whose contributions were essential to the development of the model.

          Mr. Ryan said, "The information presented in the final report is a testament to the taxing detail-oriented work that the departmental committees and AOTC staff performed. It is truly an amazing achievement."

          Chief Justice Mulligan said that he has already begun to use the staffing models in consultation with the departmental Chief Justices as a framework for assessing requests and making decisions regarding critically needed positions in trial court departments. He also said that the Model Staffing Report will be used as an empirical basis for supporting the Trial Court Fiscal Year 2006 budget request in his upcoming appearance before the Joint Ways and Means Committee of the Legislature.

          The Staffing Model Report can be found at www.mass.gov/courts/staffingmodelreport.html.