A dozen Massachusetts courts may close

July 13, 2011

Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justices are planning to close twelve trial courts due to budget cuts. Chief Justice Roderick Ireland and Robert Mulligan, chief justice for administration and management, issued a statement, signed by all the Supreme Judicial Court justices, explaining how the state's trial court system has seen a funding cut of almost 16 percent since the 2009 fiscal year, including a cut of over $24 million since the last fiscal year. Twelve courts may be consolidated into other courts and districts in order to save money. Since the budget reductions, over 1,100 court employees have already been let go. The justices wrote that the new budget for the 2012 fiscal year will "jeopardize the right of every person, guaranteed by the Massachusetts Constitution, to have recourse to the courts and obtain civil and criminal justice completely and without denial, promptly and without delay." They also asked the Governor for a freeze on judicial and clerk magistrate appointments, but the request was denied.

The closures, however, have not been finalized. Sen. Jennifer Flanagan explained, "What the Supreme Judicial Court is saying is that there is not enough money in the court budget — obviously the governor signed the budget yesterday. We are still trying to address it, and there is not a need to panic." She also raised worries about the decreased accessibility of the relocated courts for those in other cities and towns. Gov. Patrick's chief legal counsel, Mark Reilly, thought the justices' letter was confusing and issued a statement in which he wrote, "We are surprised by today's claim that the courts cannot manage their fiscal affairs without this attempt to constrain the governor's constitutional authority."

Last year, local officials stopped a similar plan to consolidate a dozen courts. This year, if the plan goes through, the following courts will close and their operations will be moved elsewhere:

• Norfolk Juvenile Court
• Gloucester District Court
• Hingham District Court
• Leominister District Court
• Brookline District Court
• Westborough District Court
• Wareham District Court
• Westfield District Court
• Berkshire Juvenile Court
• Boston Municipal Court - Charlestown Division
• Middlesex Juvenile Court - Framingham Session
• New Bedford Housing Court

External links

• Boston Business Journal, "Massachusetts judges plan to close 12 courthouses," July 13, 2011
• WWLP.com, "Chief Judge: Halt judicial appointments," July 13, 2011
• The Dedham Transcipt, "Patrick rejects court request to halt judicial nominees," July 13, 2011
• Boston Herald.com, "Judges on warpath," July 14, 2011