by Amatulla Zakir

An official of the Boston Bar Association denounced a bill sponsored by Somerville’s state senators that would take the power to appoint and oversee assistant registers away from judges and give it instead to the elected county registers.

“The Massachusetts Bar Association and Boston Bar Association, as well as probate and family court practitioners, oppose this measure for many good reasons,” said Gary O. Todd, co-chair of the Boston Bar Association, family law section.

“Judges are in the best position to do hiring and to oversee assistant registers because judges do not have to worry about re-election. Keeping the power with judges avoids political patronage and keeps the focus on justice. Shifting of power to registers may not only erode confidence in the courts, but detrimentally impact those with less political clout, such as the poor, minorities and women,” he said.

While the amendment, Outside Section 316J, is opposed by members of local bar associations who fear it will bring politics into the courtroom, it has found support among some of Somerville’s representatives.

Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios, D-Somerville, and Sen. Charles E. Shannon, D-Somerville, are sponsors of the amendment, along with state senators Steven C. Panagiotakos, Robert A. Havern and Thomas M. McGee.

“I see it as a worthy amendment,” said Shannon. “It will introduce sound management principles in the probate court system. Assistant registers perform administrative functions, and the head of administrative duties is the register. Having them under a judge makes no sense.”

State Rep. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville, said she was in favor of the amendment as well. “I support the right of registers to hire whoever they need. I spoke to John Buonomo about it and he was very persuasive when he spoke to me.”

John R. Buonomo, the Middlesex county register of the probate and family court, would gain the power to appoint assistant registers if the amendment is passed.

Buonomo also lobbied Senator Barrios, said Colin B. Durrant, Barrios’ press secretary.

“The senator came aboard this amendment when assured by Register of Probate John Buonomo that the change would help him run his office more efficiently,” Durrant said.

Local bar associations are unconvinced.

Todd, of the Boston Bar Association, said that the provision, written to affect the district courts, will also affect the juvenile court, housing court, and Boston municipal court. He said it would have a particularly devastating impact in the probate and family court.

Assistant registers perform quasi-judicial functions that are unique to probate and family court, and distinguish them from assistant clerk magistrates in the other court departments, Todd said.

“The authority of the assistant registers in the probate and family court to act on judicial matters is conferred upon them by the justices of their court, and is based upon the confidence which the judges have in the assistant registers,” Todd said.

If the proposed amendment becomes law, Todd said, the court will be fragmented and the assistants will have a conflict of interest in answering to the elected register and impartially performing quasi-judicial functions.

“In many counties, assistant registers act on routine uncontested probate matters and certain uncontested motions. They act on these matters on behalf of the judges. In this capacity, the assistant registers act on approximately 100 cases each day, which would otherwise have to be presented to a judge. This provides significant financial savings for pro se litigants, counsel and their clients,” Todd said.

“The assistant registers provide invaluable assistance to the justices in this regard. They perform legal research, draft findings of fact, conclusions of law, judgments, orders, memoranda and decrees,” he said.
Todd said the duties of the assistant registers are critical to the operations of the court.

“The justices have entrusted them with these quasi-judicial powers because they work under the direction of the judges, which allows them to remain impartial and preserve the integrity of the judiciary. These functions are only possible when a confidential relationship between the judges and the assistant registers exist. They cannot be delegated to someone who comes under the authority of the elected registers of probate.”

First assistant registers and assistant registers are either lawyers or long-term career employees and assist the judges with legal research, Todd said. They also provide valuable assistance to lawyers and litigants concerning the legal process and procedures to assist them to properly file matters with the Court.

Middlesex Probate and Family Court has eight assistant registers, Todd said, and one first assistant register. Of the nine assistant registers, three are long-term employees, each having more than forty years of experience with the court.

“Assistant registers are not assistants to the register, but are assistants to the judiciary. The quality of the hires done by judges is excellent, and, over the last decade, a law degree and other experience has become a prerequisite. The register of probate’s administrative duties are performed by administrative deputy assistants and should not encroach on the functions of assistant registers.”

A similar amendment was proposed in 2002, but failed to pass, according to the Boston Bar Association.