Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall
Reports Significant Progress in
Court Management Reforms in Annual Address to the Legal Community
Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall today
announced that the judicial branch has made "significant
progress in the management of the courts" when she
delivered her Annual Address to the Legal Community
at a second annual event held in the John Adams Courthouse,
sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association.
She
said a well-functioning court system needs to follow
business model principles, including "focus, disciplined
management, efficiency, and responsiveness." She cited
several major management reforms that the courts have
made in the past year.
Chief
Justice Marshall said that the Court Management Advisory
Board (CMAB), comprised of well respected outside management
experts, recently issued a second yearly report on
the performance of the Trial Court, which stated that
CMAB members "were struck by the energy displayed by
local court leadership and the commitment to achieve
progress" on court management reforms. The CMAB also
lauded progress in implementing MassCourts, the Trial
Court's electronic case management system and on the
application of the Trial Court's staffing models, another
new court management tool to help guide the courts
with equitable allocation of resources based on case
volume and complexities.
Chief
Justice Marshall emphasized that the use of court metrics,
the establishment of objective goals to measure how
the courts are meeting their time standards with cases
moving through the system, have been valuable tools
in determining the courts' progress. She said that
Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert
A. Mulligan instituted metrics reports, which provide
data to measure the courts' performance. In 2006, one
goal was to reduce aged cases by 33 percent. In fact,
the data shows that the number of aged cases was reduced
by more than half, from approximately 177,000 cases
to 87,500 in 2006. "We know our courts are expediting
the delivery of justice because the data tell us so," she
stated. She also said the Trial Court metrics reports
and the CMAB reports are available online at www.mass.gov/courts for everyone to view.
She
announced that Chief Justice Mulligan is establishing
a new metric this year to focus on constituent satisfaction
in an effort to help the courts better understand public
perceptions and needs. "This new metric will enable
the Trial Courts to capture not only improvements in
the delivery of justice, but the perceptions of progress
of those who use courts," she said. A pilot program
has been instituted in the Boston Municipal Court.
Technological
innovation is another measure of progress in court
management, Chief Justice Marshall said. She called
MassCourts "a significant achievement and an important
public safety initiative by allowing more accurate
information sharing in criminal cases throughout the
courts and their constituent agencies." She thanked
Appeals Court Judge James McHugh and Chief Information
Officer Craig Burlingame for leading the massive ongoing
Trial Court technology venture and bringing it to fruition.
She
announced a new initiative in the Clerk's Office of
the Supreme Judicial Court with a project to scan all
briefs filed in cases to be heard by the full Court
and to make them electronically available on the Court's
website. She said that these briefs will soon be linked
to the webcasts of the oral arguments and the Court's
opinions. The goal, she said, is "to make our courts
more accessible and transparent for all."
Chief
Justice Marshall also announced the establishment of
two new projects in partnership with the bar. She said
that the Justices have decided to support the creation
of a Massachusetts Bar Association committee to develop
plain English jury instructions in civil cases. Calling
it a worthwhile initiative, she said, "The English
language should not be a barrier to justice."
The
second new venture, she announced, is a series of bench-bar
meetings to elicit reactions from lawyers concerning
court management initiatives. She said these meetings
will be held regionally throughout the state next year.
A similar successful forum at a Boston law firm was
held last May with 125 attorneys in attendance with
Chief Justice Marshall, Chief Justice Mulligan, and
CMAB members. She said input from lawyers and a dialogue
with judges will have great value as the courts continue
to implement management reforms.
Following
Chief Justice Marshall"s address, a panel of distinguished
judges and lawyers discussed jury communication issues,
including jury selection, instruction and post-trial
contact.
Read
the Speech 
View Photos from Massachusetts
Bar Association Symposium
