Overview
The Massachusetts Appeals Court was established in 1972. According to its website,
The Massachusetts Appeals Court is committed to doing justice under the law by rendering thoughtful, well-reasoned appellate decisions in a timely and efficient manner, treating all those who come before the court fairly and impartially.
The Appeals Court is a court of general appellate jurisdiction, where justices review decisions that trial judges from the departments of the Trial Court have already made. It also has jurisdiction over appeals of final decisions made by three state agencies: the Appellate Tax Board, the Industrial Accident Board, and the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board. The Appeals Court has a chief justice and 24 associate justices and is located at the John Adams Courthouse at One Pemberton Square in Boston. In fiscal years 2019 and 2020, the Appeals Court received appropriations of $13,627,421 and $13,615,014, respectively. The Appeals Court administered and processed 2,088 cases during our audit period.
The Appeals Court contracted with Tyler Technologies in 2014 to create an electronic system to enable filing to be performed through a secure method. According to the Massachusetts court system’s website, the filing system, eFileMA, “allows filers to easily open court cases and e-file documents to participating courts anytime and from anywhere—24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
The Supreme Judicial Court has published the Massachusetts Rules of Electronic Filing, effective September 1, 2018, which govern the Appeals Court’s e-filing process. When a document is e-filed, the Appeals Court Clerk’s Office reviews the filing for compliance with these rules and collects the required filing fee.
According to the Appeals Court website,
[The Appeals Court charges fees] for filing civil and criminal appeals, single justice motions, copies, electronic court documents, and [compact discs] of oral argument. . . . The Appeals Court will accept cash, check, money order, or credit card payments.
The court has created a process to document each day’s fees collected on log sheets that are contained in a fiscal ledger and are used and maintained by the Clerk’s Office. Each day, the Appeals Court’s Fiscal Office uses a log sheet, in conjunction with supporting documentation (including reports from Forecourt Paragon Case Management System, which the Appeals Court uses for case management and docketing), to reconcile the previous day’s revenue collections.
| Date published: | November 2, 2020 |
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