The state’s judicial branch, historically wanting in the ways of Beacon Hill, came out on top in the fight with Gov. Deval Patrick for control of probation and may have finally discovered the road to happiness goes through the Legislature.
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland stood should to shoulder with House Speaker Robert DeLeo today as the legislative leader announced he was filing a bill to retain the troubled probation department within the judiciary and adopting several of the reforms recommended by an SJC task force.
The only thing missing was the two constitutional leaders breaking into “Kumbaya.” That and any mention of the third branch of government.
“Today, two branches of state government stand together to support a bill aimed at reorganizing certain aspects of the judiciary,” DeLeo said. “This bill is the product of diligent efforts toward consensus. While we brought different ideas and concerns to the table, we shared a single goal: improving upon an already strong system of courts in a way that provides the Commonwealth with the most efficient and cost-effective infrastructure for the disposition of justice.”
Right back at you, Ireland said in essence.
“On behalf of the Supreme Judicial Court, I support the Speaker’s proposed court management reform legislation,” Ireland said. “I also applaud the collaborative way in which he sought, received, and considered recommendations from the court’s working group on management reform, and look forward to working with him on future court management initiatives to improve the administration of justice.”
DeLeo’s bill creates a position of court administrator to oversee the non-judicial functions of the courts, a job that Patrick also pushed for in legislation filed earlier this year. But DeLeo gave full credit to a task force headed by former Boston College president the Rev. Donald Monan, who attended the event in the House members’ lounge. Little mention, though, was made of the fact the Monan Report made the recommendation eight years ago.
In the Probation Department, the new administrator would handle all hiring and firing instead of the commissioner. The commissioner would be appointed jointly by the new court administrator, the Chief Justice of Administration and Management, and the SJC.
The Massachusetts Bar Association offered high praise for the creation of the court administrator.
“The creation of a court administrator position to be filled by an expert, non-judicial civilian administrator brings to fruition decades worth of independent reports and findings on Massachusetts court reform that have recommended such action,” Martin W. Healy, the organization’s chief legal counsel, said in a statement.
DeLeo, who last year had considered using Civil Service for probation hiring, backed off that approach and now wants an “objective” examination but with a minimal score for candidates to move onto the next level in the process. His bill also requires recommendations for all state jobs, not just those in probation, to be made in writing and for the recommendations for successful candidates to become public records.
Most of what DeLeo announced today was a rehash of a speech he gave in March at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce with a couple of minor twists, such as anyone hired in any branch of state government must reveal any relatives who also work in state government.
But the biggest piece of the measure and the one that brought the biggest smile to Ireland’s face was the decision to leave probation where it is. DeLeo, who like other legislators has made a number of recommendations for probation jobs over the years, including his godson, dismissed suggestions his bill would maintain the status quo.
“This isn’t tinkering around the edges,” DeLeo said, citing the exams and the transparency as fundamental changes in the reform.
One of Patrick’s biggest arguments in bringing probation into the executive branch was that, unlike the judiciary or the Legislature, his office is subject to the Public Records Law. State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty of Chelsea, chairman of the Judiciary Committee which will hear the bill, said adding more transparency to the courts by making them subject to the Public Records Law may be something that could happen down the line.
Court officers would go through the same hiring process as probation workers under DeLeo’s bill, but there was no mention of clerk-magistrates, who were the subject of a recent CommonWealth story. Both DeLeo and O’Flaherty said clerk-magistrates could be addressed in the future.
Former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, who is leading a task force on court reform, said he was pleased with DeLeo’s bill because it includes many of his panel’s recommendations. He said he would like to see the judiciary brought under the purview of the Public Records Law and the hiring process for clerks addressed.
“I think it’s something that ought to be looked at,” he said. “You’re dealing with a system that’s been entrenched at all levels. . . Maybe discretion was the better part of valor in the issue of the clerks.”
Ireland said he and his fellow jurists did some soul-searching about whether they were compromising the constitution’s separation of powers by entering into direct negotiations with DeLeo and his staff on the bill. “If there was going to be legislation, we wanted to have a voice,” he said.
This may be the judiciary clearing its throat.