Community engagement pilot
Massachusetts was chosen as one of six states to participate in a pilot project with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). Three pilot courthouses in Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee will be the first sites to hold community engagement sessions. These sites were chosen based on a number of factors, including their community ties, local leadership, and demographic diversity. These sites will identify and lead focused dialogue to address a specific issue. The pilot is scheduled to take place between 2019 and 2020.
In 2019 and 2020, the pilot sites held a combined six community engagement events. These meetings focused on building strategies to expand gateways to substance use treatment in the court and community. Representatives from law enforcement, bar associations, legislators, local community organizations, and the NCSC attended the meetings.
Diversity listening sessions
In 2018, Court leaders held a series of Listening Sessions at six large courthouses. The sessions shared the Court’s efforts to advance work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and gathered suggestions on how to engage employees and Court users in this work. Participants shared stories about personal experiences with race and bias, both inside and outside the Court. Future efforts will continue to seek feedback from employees and the community on their interactions with the Court in order to deepen understanding and improve Court experiences.
House of Corrections listening sessions
In January 2020, a group of Trial Court judges along with representatives from Probation, clerk’s office and Security met with a group of detainees at a local House of Corrections to listen to their thoughts and concerns regarding their experiences with the courts. Topics discussed included their experiences with different court departments, medication assisted treatment, specialty courts, and health.
Community conversations on race
In February 2020, Trial Court leaders and appellate court Chief Justices held a listening session at Roxbury Community College titled “How Can Justice be Achieved for All?” This was the first court-organized listening session designed to hear the concerns of the African American communities in acknowledgement of the 400th year anniversary of the commencement of slavery in the United States and in full recognition of the legacy of racial injustice that followed. There was robust participation from the over 200 community residents in attendance, who shared their thoughts, feelings, and concerns with the courts, as over 30 court leaders and judicial members in attendance.
Following this inaugural event, there was a desire to directly engage the community in a dialogue about racial justice. The Trial Court has scheduled smaller Community Conversations across the state. Locally based judges and probation officers have convened multiple virtual events to discuss issues of race and achieving justice for individuals, who have historically experienced disparate treatment in the justice system, as research still shows.