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SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT HEARS ORAL ARGUMENTS
IN BROCKTON
Brockton—More than a hundred students
and teachers from several Brockton area schools today filled
the largest courtroom in the Brockton Superior Courthouse
to watch the seven Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court
hear oral arguments in five cases on appeal. This is the first
time in recent history that the Supreme Judicial Court
has held a sitting in Brockton.
Since
January 1993, when the Supreme Judicial Court held a tercentenary
celebration in Salem, the SJC has held sittings in eleven
communities outside Boston, where it generally hears appeals.
The SJC held a sitting in Plymouth in May 1994.
"I
am delighted that so many young people are here today to learn
about the appellate process. It is important for citizens
to have opportunities to witness how our judicial system operates
in a constitutional democracy," said Supreme Judicial
Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall.
The
Justices heard arguments in the following five cases: Commonwealth
v. A Juvenile; Tri-Nel Management, Inc. and others v. Sumner
Kaufman and Town of Barnstable; Commonwealth v. Dominic Buccella;
Jeffrey Miller and others v. Darryl Fickett and others; and
Adoption of Stephanie and another. The Justices took the cases
under advisement and will issue a written decision in each
case within the next few months.
The
session began with welcoming remarks to the Justices by Ian
Oppenheim, President of the Plymouth Bar Association, followed
with greetings by Chief Justice Marshall. Following the sitting
in the historic Superior Court Courthouse on Belmont Street,
the Justices walked over to the new Brockton Trial Court a
block away to attend a luncheon there sponsored by the Plymouth
Bar Association. They also had a tour of the new courthouse,
which opened in August, and greeted the judges and court employees
who work there.
As
the state’s highest appellate court, the SJC hears oral arguments
covering a broad range of criminal and civil cases. The full
Court sits during the first week of every month from September
to May. Single Justice sessions are held each week throughout
the year.
In
addition to its appellate functions, the SJC is responsible
for the general superintendence of the Massachusetts courts
and of the bar. Originally called the Superior Court of Judicature,
the 308-year-old Court is the oldest court in continuous service
in the Western Hemisphere, operating under the oldest, functioning
written constitution in the world.
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