Who do I ask for help?
Every court has a person called an ADA Assistance Coordinator (“ADAAC”) who can help you and answer any questions about this process. To find your ADA Assistance Coordinator, you need to know what Court your case is in (for example, Barnstable District Court.) If you are already at the courthouse, you can ask for the ADA Assistance Coordinator at the front counter of the Clerk's Office or the Register’s Office. You can also find your ADA Assistance Coordinator online at ADA Accessibility at the Courts.
An ADA Assistance Coordinator CAN
- Help you determine the correct form for your request
- Physically complete the form with the answers you provide, if you are unable to do so yourself
- Give you information about the process and court procedures
An ADA Assistance Coordinator CANNOT
- Go to your court hearing with you or give any assistance with personal care such as eating, dressing, toileting
- Give you legal advice or explain a judge's decision
- Tell you what information answers you should put in
- Speak with a judge or clerk magistrate on your behalf
If you are a juror, you can request accommodations by contacting the Office of the Jury Commissioner.
Request Form or Motion, which do I use?
Some types of accommodations can be granted by the ADA Assistance Coordinator. Others need to be decided by the Judge or Clerk Magistrate assigned to your case.
In general, if the accommodation you ask for requires a balancing of your rights against the rights of the other party to the case (such as a request for a continuance), or impacts how the courtroom is run (such as asking for frequent breaks), you will need to file the ADA Motion.
For all other accommodations, please submit the Request Form. See the chart below for examples of when to use the Request Form and when to submit the ADA Motion.
If you don't know which to use, ask your ADA Assistance Coordinator.
Request Form
- Assistive Listening Device
- Communication Access Realtime Transcription (CART)
- Digital Audio Reading
- Documents made available Large Print
- Sign Language Interpreter
Motion
- Additional time to submit documents
- Changes to the way testimony is to be given
- Extension of Time
- Frequent breaks in the courtroom
- Hearing held at specific time of day
- Permission to use personal readers and notetaker
- Presence of animal other than trained service animal
- Remain seated during proceeding
- Use of other equipment in the courtroom and provided by Requestor
- Zoom video conference hearings
How to Complete the Request Form
This Request Formmust be fully completed, printed out, signed and either hand-delivered or mailed to the Clerk’s or Register’s Office at the courthouse of your proceedings as soon as you know that you must appear in court and as far as possible in advance of your scheduled court appearance or activity.
The ADA Assistance Coordinator at the courthouse will promptly review the completed Request Form and will process it. Please be aware that some accommodation requests, such as for CART services or for ASL interpreters, need to be scheduled weeks in advance.
Do not submit medical records or doctor's notes with the Request Form. If the court wants more information from you, they will ask for it when necessary.
The information on the Request Form will be kept confidential unless confidentiality is waived in writing, or disclosure is required by law.
If you need assistance with physically filling out the Request Form, please contact the ADA Assistance Coordinator.
(Find an ADA Assistance Coordinator at ADA Accessibility at the Courts | Mass.gov.)
How to Complete the ADA Motion
The ADA Motion must be filed by a party(i.e., the Plaintiff, Defendant, or their Attorney, but not a witness or juror) to the case with the Clerk's Office/Register’s Office where the case is being heard.
This Motion must be fully completed, printed, signed and either hand-delivered or mailed to the Clerk’s or Register’s Office at the courthouse of your proceedings.
The Clerk's Office/Register’s Office will then forward the ADA Motion to the Judge or Clerk Magistrate who will make the decision on whether to grant the requested accommodation.
Do not submit medical records or doctor's notes with the ADA Motion. If the Trial Court wants more information from you, the Court will ask for it from you when needed.
ADA Motions filed with the Court are docketed as part of your case file and may be viewable by the public. You may request the Court to keep the ADA Motionconfidential by completing the section titled "Impoundment" and providing specific reasons why the ADA Motionshould be kept confidential and not available to the public.
The Judge or Clerk Magistrate will review the ADA Motionand has sole authority to approve or deny it.
If you need assistance with physically filling out the Motion, please contact the ADA Assistance Coordinator.
(Find an ADA Assistance Coordinator at ADA Accessibility at the Courts | Mass.gov.)