“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