Massachusetts judicial system to overhaul hiring practices

September 9, 2011[edit]

Boston, Massachusetts: In light of a recent study, the Massachusetts judicial system is being pushed to change the way they hire, evaluate and promote employees. Former Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger led the 10-member task force that reported the need for "a radical overhaul of the infrastructure of the hiring, evaluation and promotional systems for the judicial branch".^[1] The task force focused on hiring practices regarding the staff of the chief administrative judge and of the judicial leaders of each of the seven Trial Court departments in the state. Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland supported the report's conclusions and stated that, "despite fiscal challenges, we need to implement modern approaches...to recruit, retain, evaluate and promote (those) who seek to serve in the judicial system."^[1]

The task force was first appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court last December and have issued four reports since then. Amongst its 25 pages, the latest report found that, in some cases, court administrative staff were being appointed to "acting" positions (rather than permanent positions) as a way to get around certain procedures mandated by the court manual. It also found that the human resources department had little say in hiring decisions and that some positions were not subject to standardized performance reviews.

The report echoes a new law that Gov. Patrick signed last month to create new hiring procedures for court and probation officers and to restrict nepotism and patronage. It also creates a new "civilian administrator" position in order to assist the justices in Trial Court operations and the implementation of the new policies.^[1]

See also[edit]

• Courts in Massachusetts

Footnotes[edit]