|
CHIEF JUSTICE MARGARET H. MARSHALL
ANNOUNCES
NEW INITIATIVES TO BROADEN ACCESS TO JUSTICE;
CITES MAJOR PROGRESS IN COURT MANAGEMENT REFORM
“Improving
access to justice demands planning, leadership, and focus,” Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Margaret H. Marshall said today as
she announced several major initiatives to help people
who represent themselves in court and people who have limited
means to afford legal representation.
In
a keynote speech to lawyers and judges at the annual meeting
of the Massachusetts Bar Association at the Marriott Copley
Place Hotel, Chief Justice Marshall said that self-represented
litigants continue to increase in numbers because many
people cannot afford lawyers. “Like courts around
the nation, ours face a crisis of affordability,” she
said.
To
meet the challenge, the Supreme Judicial Court established
a Steering Committee on Self-Represented Litigants, chaired
by Appeals Court Justice Cynthia Cohen, whose committee
has been working on ways to help the courts deal effectively
with unrepresented litigants.
Chief
Justice Marshall announced that the Supreme Judicial Court
has approved new Judicial Guidelines, which will be available
to every judge in the state, to help them with challenging
issues in handling civil cases with non-lawyers who have
difficulty understanding complicated court procedures.
A
second initiative, targeted for people of modest means,
concerns “limited scope representation” or “unbundling,” which
permits attorneys to represent clients for specific legal
tasks rather than for the duration of the litigation. Describing
limited scope representation as a “win-win proposition” for
lawyers and clients alike, Chief Justice Marshall announced
that a pilot project on limited scope representation will
begin in Suffolk and Hampden Probate and Family Courts
sometime in the fall or early next year. This initiative,
which probate judges and attorneys have been developing,
will make more lawyers available to more people in need
and will help to speed the delivery of justice.
To
address the need for self-represented litigants to understand
basic courtroom procedures, rules, terminology, and demeanor,
a court handbook is another initiative to assist people
who represent themselves in civil cases. The handbook will
also offer helpful resources for finding lawyers and will
be readily available in every clerk’s office, as
well as in libraries and on the Web.
Chief
Justice Marshall also announced that the Trial Court is
requesting $3.3 million in the Fiscal Year 2007 budget
for new sound and digital equipment to improve the acoustics
in courtrooms where the equipment is outdated and it is
impossible for the public to hear the proceedings. She
also said that the Trial Court’s ability to transfer
its funds is crucial to managing court resources efficiently
and that the judicial branch leaders will work closely
with the legislature “to bring best practices to
the management of our courts.”
In
discussing improved court management, Chief Justice Marshall
said that the 2003 Monan Report has been an excellent roadmap
for court reform and that “our long range plan for
administrative excellence is working.” She applauded
the Trial Court judges and personnel who have been implementing
time standards for cases in all court departments. She
said that staffing models have assisted the courts in securing
appropriate funding for personnel where they are most needed.
She also thanked the members of the Court Management Advisory
Board for their work as “institutional partners and
mentors” and for assisting the judicial branch in
its efforts to improve court management.
While
noting that there is much more work ahead, Chief Justice
Marshall said, “We have, in the space of a few short
years, created the ingredients for lasting success in the
administration of justice: the plan, the leadership, and
the focus to bring our courts proudly forward into the
Twenty-First Century.”
Keynote Address of
Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall 
|
