Class Report #1
The class was asked to meet at the Edward Brooks Courthouse for
a tour of the courthouse and an opportunity to sit in on housing court hearings
and trials.
1)
Tour of the Courthouse
a) In
order to enter the courthouse civilians are required to go through metal
detectors and hand over their belongings to go through a screening. Layers are
allowed to show their BAR license card/ credentials and walk into the
courthouse without screening.
b) The
class met in the large atrium space of the courthouse, in front of the roll
call screens that list the cases being heard for the day. The class met with
Paul Burke who is the administrator of the Massachusetts Housing Court, who
provided the tour of the courthouse.
c) The
courthouse services Boston Municipal Court, Probate Court, Housing Court, Juvenile
Court, Land Court, and Criminal Court. The first floor is entry and the
registry of deeds, while the second floor serves the Board of the BAR. The
third floor is the transaction floor where office spaces, secretarial spaces,
and court services are, including housing specialists focusing on mediation. The
court houses are located on the fourth and fifth floors while the court
administration offices, and Boston Municipal Court are located on the sixth floor.
d) The
class was allowed to entire a courtroom that was not in use on the 6th
floor that was used by Boston Municipal court. The courtroom had seats for the public,
an eight-person jury box, clerk desk, judge stand, and witness stand. The bar
in the courtrooms were all hollowed out to provide transparency between the court
and the public.
2)
Navigating the Space
a) The
courthouse would’ve been difficult to navigate without the assistance of Mr.
Burke. There was very little signage (even for restrooms) and the touch screen directory
did not provide enough information to allow for the user to know the space very
well. The boards showed sample FAQs instead of helpful information and only
provided two languages, English and Spanish.
b) Differentiating between the courts on the 4th
and 5th floor was also a bit difficult. The courts are all labeled
above the doorway however, it is not easily readable.
c) Something
else discussed amongst a portion of the class was that it was very difficult to
tell the time in the courthouse. Phones are not allowed to be used in the
courtrooms which have analog clocks above the main doorway, and digital clocks
shown to the public from the Judge’s stand. Some spaces had clocks that did not
work, and while in this day and age it is assumed that everyone has a phone
that is not always the case.
d) There
was an announcements/ page over an intercom in the courthouse but due to the
large atrium space, it was difficult to hear the voice clearly due to the
chatter in the hallway. It is important to point out that the walls did have
forms of soundproofing in order to help in the large space.
3)
Housing Court
a) The
hallways spanned wide and proved very useful in front of housing court because
of the Lawyer of the Day program that advised and assisted landlords and
residents. The program set up by the Boston BAR Association had two tables, one
for tenants and another for landlords, with lawyers backs against the railing
and coats hanging on said railing.
b) It
was noted by many court personnel that they enjoyed the natural light in both
the courthouse and the courtrooms.
c) On
the day of the class tour, there were 190 cases, and Mr. Burke stated that due
to the housing specialists and mediations there is a success rate of 85%
between landlords and tenants. Those 190 cases were heard in three courtrooms
that day. This is what those courtrooms looked liked.
d) The
class sat in on several cases and trials and examined how the court worked, and
the cases that were brought to the judge, some of which resembled the writings
of Matthew Desmond in ‘Evicted’.