Mass. B.M.C. & Dist. Ct. Joint Standing Order 3-15

Order 3-15

This standing order is issued pursuant to the authority of the Chief Justices of the Boston Municipal Court and of the District Court under G.L. c. 211B, § 10; G.L. c. 218, § 43A; and Uniform Rule on Impoundment Procedure 13(b) of Trial Court VIII to regulate clerk records of impounded materials in the Boston Municipal Court and District Court pursuant to Uniform Rule on Impoundment Procedure 13. The requirement in Rule 13(b) that the filer of a document containing impounded information file a separate notice notifying the clerk of the impounded material is intended to "enable[] the clerk and court staff to properly identify and set aside protected material." Committee Notes. Accordingly, the application of this requirement should be waived where the nature of the material impounded renders a separate notice not useful to the clerk.

1. Purpose and applicability

To advance efficiency in the Boston Municipal Court and the District Court and to better serve the public and the bar, this standing order shall provide for exceptions to the notice of impounded filing requirements contained in Uniform Rule on Impoundment Procedure 13.

2. Exempted documents

The notice provisions contained in Uniform Rule on Impoundment Procedure 13(b) shall not apply to the following:

Affidavit of indigency

Allegation of domestic abuse under G.L. c. 276, § 56A

Search warrant applications and supporting documents impounded pursuant to Rule on Impoundment Procedure 3(e)(1)

Plaintiff's residential address, residential telephone number, workplace name, workplace address, and workplace telephone number in abuse prevention and harassment prevention proceedings, see G.L. c. 209A, § 8; G.L. c. 258E, § 10

All reports, petitions, and other documents filed pursuant to and as provided in G.L. c. 123, including but not limited to mental health and substance abuse reports, petitions, and dockets.

Financial statement of judgment debtor

Name of the victim in investigations or prosecutions for sexual assault offenses listed in G.L. c. 265, § 24B

All documents in cases that are or have been impounded in their entirety

All other documents that are impounded in their entirety by statute, court rule, standing order, or case law.