Issues and Action

Support An Act Improving the Administration of the Judicial Branch –
HD2465
Terra Saks, LWVM Court Reform Specialist

The League of Women Voters supports a new Massachusetts court reform bill, HD2465: An Act Improving the Administration of the Judicial Branch by Implementation of Certain Recommendations of the Monan Committee, So-Called. Representative Alice Peisch is the bill’s lead sponsor.

The League supports a judicial system that provides equal justice for all through effective, modern administrative procedures and practices, which ensure due process of law. The League was instrumental in the passage of the Court Reform Acts of 1978 and recognizes that court reorganization is a painful process and one that takes years to implement fully. The League has continued to be intensely involved with court reorganization over the years, supporting measures to strengthen the court system.

In 2002 Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall appointed a Visiting Committee on Management of the Courts, chaired by the Reverend J. Donald Monan, Chancellor of Boston College, to examine the management structure and practices of the Massachusetts court system. The Committee found that administration of the Massachusetts court system is “mired in managerial confusion. The impact of high-quality judicial decisions is undermined by high cost, slow action, and poor service to the community. The administration and management of the Judiciary is uneven at best, and oftentimes dysfunctional.”

Restructuring the courts to clarify reporting lines and responsibilities within the system is the first recommendation of the Monan Committee. This bill allows the Administrator of the Judicial Department to be a professional manager, rather than requiring the top administrative position to be filled by a judge.

High-quality judicial decisions are undermined by the high cost, slow action and poor service to the community caused by the current managerial confusion of the Massachusetts courts. These failings have a significant impact on the citizens of Massachusetts:

• Businesses avoid states with slow, unsteady courts.

• Families suffer because of slow case resolution.

• Inefficiency wastes taxpayer money.

Highlights

• This legislation implements one of the three initiatives recommended by the Monan Committee: to commit to a new leadership style and a revised organizational structure.
• The bill will clarify reporting lines and responsibilities within the court by requiring that the Chief Administrator serve at the pleasure of the Supreme Judicial Court rather than the fixed, five-year term under current law.
• The legislation would broaden the potential pool of candidates for Chief Administrator by removing the requirement that the position be filled by a judge, who may or may not have managerial strengths.