February 2025

In this Issue

• Digital signage transforms the Chelsea Trial Court experience 
• FY26 budget process underway  
• First-ever Probation Officer Academy class reports for duty after graduation 
• March Judicial Outreach Month update
• Stay connected on the go—try the Courtyard app! 

VIDEO SPOTLIGHT: Digital signage is transforming the Chelsea Trial Court experience 

Click play on the video above to see Chelsea's digital signage in action.

The Trial Court is rolling out the digital signage initiative statewide to all courthouses to improve the court user experience, enhance navigation and wayfinding in the courts, and provide valuable resources and access to justice for all court users. 

Last month, court and local leaders celebrated the launch of digital signage at the Chelsea Trial Court, marking the first step in a multiyear initiative to modernize courthouse navigation and replace physical signage with dynamic digital displays across 97 court locations. The displays provide daily docket updates, multilingual content, and user-friendly navigation and interfaces.  

The event featured remarks from Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi E. Brieger and Court Administrator Thomas G. Ambrosino, who shared their vision for improving the user experience and advancing access to justice. Attendees explored digital displays featuring docket updates, multilingual content, and wayfinding maps.  

What does this mean for employees? 

Digital signage provides up-to-date information, eliminating the need for printed docket lists that quickly become outdated. The new signage establishes a unified communication system across courthouses, ensures local announcements and resources are easily accessible, and reduces inquiries at the counter by providing clear and engaging messaging for court visitors. 

To learn more, including this initiative’s key features, contacts, and rollout schedule, visit the Digital Signage page on Courtyard. 

FY26 budget process underway  

Court leaders have begun meeting with legislators to advocate for the Trial Court’s FY26 funding. The Trial Court requested $985.5 million to maintain existing operations and $7.5 million to strengthen digital and physical security. In late January, Governor Healey released her budget recommendations (referred to as H1 in the first year of a legislative session), which kicked off the FY26 budget season. H1's appropriation of $952 million fell $33 million short of the Trial Court's maintenance request. 

“We are hopeful that through meetings with individual Senators and Representatives, the Legislature will recognize the significance of fully funding our maintenance request,” said Chief Justice Heidi E. Brieger and Court Administrator Tom Ambrosino. “We will continue to meet with legislators to advocate for the court system’s needs.” 



The next step in the process is the statewide budget hearing before the Joint Ways and Means Committee, where court leaders will testify. Following the hearing, the House Ways and Means Committee is expected to release its budget recommendations by mid-April.  

First-ever Probation Officer Academy class reports for duty after graduation 

On February 7th, the Massachusetts Probation Service welcomed its first class of graduates from its newly established Probation Officer Academy. The 27 new Probation Officers received their badges in front of friends and family during a ceremony at the Massachusetts Training and Operations Center in Clinton. 

The POs reported to duty at 21 courts across eight of the Commonwealth’s 14 counties. “We have never done anything like this,” Commissioner Pamerson Ifill said. “It represents the beginning of a new era of how we go about incorporating and building the culture that we believe can make a difference in changing the trajectories of the people that we work with every day.” 

Chief Justice Heidi E. Brieger, Court Administrator Thomas G. Ambrosino, and Commissioner Ifill addressed the new officers, offering words of congratulations and encouragement as they embarked on their new duties. This class was one of the most diverse group of new Probation Officers in MPS history.

“I know that diversity is under attack in some quarters,” said Court Administrator Ambrosino. “But, for us in the Trial Court, it is a core value. It is something to which the Chief Justice and I are entirely committed.”

The graduation featured a performance by the Massachusetts Department of Correction Bagpipe Group, the Trial Court Honor Guard, and a rendition of the National Anthem by Brockton District Court Probation Officer Linda Santos. 

The two-week academy included foundational training in key areas such as: 

✔ Legal principles, including a mock courtroom experience 

✔ Evidence-based practices 

✔ Dispute interventions and verbal de-escalation 

✔ Conflict resolution, officer safety, and disengagement tactics 

Training does not end with the academy. “The new Probation Officers will continue to attend trainings over the next six months," said MPS Training Unit Program Manager James Hotaling.

“These trainings include risk, need, and responsivity principles, case planning, treatment fundamentals, dispute resolution, trauma-informed practices, extended mock trial experiences, and many more programs designed to enhance their skillset.” 

Building on their new skills and training, these new Probation Officers are poised to navigate the challenges ahead and support safer communities across the Commonwealth. 

Thank you to MPS Director of Communications and Spokesperson Coria Holland for submitting this story.

Boston Municipal Court Judge Thomas S. Kaplanes kicks off Judicial Outreach Month early with a visit to O’Connell Middle School in Stoughton.

Connecting courts & communities: Judges to visit schools, libraries, and community organizations in March

Judicial Outreach Month (JOM) returns this March, with nearly 100 judges and judicial volunteers already slated to visit approximately 130 schools and community organizations across the state. These visits connect judges with students and community members, enhancing public understanding of the judiciary and building trust and confidence in the court’s commitment to justice, equity, fairness, inclusion, and respect for all individuals. 

“Our goal is to build trust and strengthen connections between courts and the communities we serve,” said Trial Court Public Outreach Committee Co-Chairs Land Court Judge Diane Rubin and Superior Court Judge Catherine Ham. “These conversations help demystify the court system, encourage civic engagement, and inspire future public servants. Dialogue fosters trust in the judiciary and helps us educate students and communities about the important work we do.”

This year’s outreach efforts will include:

• Boston: Appeals Court Justice Vicki Henry will visit the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry in Roxbury, alongside The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth. District Court Judge Asha White will meet with 6th graders at the Boston Teachers Union School to discuss youth civic engagement, voting rights, and contemporary legal issues.
• Brockton & Bridgewater: Brockton District Court Judge Brian Palmucci will meet with the Haitian Community Partners Foundation, while Superior Court Judge Daniel O’Shea will speak with students at Bridgewater State University.
• Lowell: Associate Justice of the District Court Kimberly Foster will meet with teens at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell to explore the justice system and career pathways in law. Superior Court Judge Charles Barrett will visit B.F. Butler Middle School.
• Lynn: Essex Juvenile Court Judge Kathryn Phelan-Brown, alongside Lynn District Court First Justice Ina Howard-Hogan at many visits, will meet with students at multiple Lynn schools, including Lynn English High School, Lynn Classical High School, Cobbett Elementary, Fecteau Leary Jr./Sr. High School, St. Mary’s High School, Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy, and Lynn Vocational Technical Institute.
• Northampton & Westhampton: Associate Justice of the Superior Court Deepika Shukla will host a public program at Forbes Library, open to all ages. A joint presentation by Chicopee District Court Judge Janine Simonian and Superior Court Judge Michael Cahillane will take place at Hampshire Regional Middle/High School.
• Pittsfield: Chicopee District Court Judge Mary Beth Ogulewicz will visit the Pittsfield Senior Center to discuss elder law and protective services.
• Revere: Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi E. Brieger and Court Administrator Thomas G. Ambrosino will visit a third-grade class at Staff Sergeant James J. Hill Elementary School.
• Taunton & Fall River: Plymouth County Juvenile Court Judge Sylvia Gomes will engage with a 9th-grade Early Childhood Education class at Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational Technical School. Superior Court Judge Raffi Yassayan will visit Bristol Community College’s Introduction to Criminal Justice class to discuss sentencing and the role of a judge in a trial.
• Westford: Stoughton District Court Judge Jason Chan and Marlborough District Court Judge Meghan Spring will separately meet with 3rd graders at John A. Crisafulli School.
• Wilbraham & Ludlow: Hampden Juvenile Court Judge David Paradis will speak with the Ludlow Senior Center, and Eastern Hampshire District Court Judge William Rooney will visit the Wilbraham Senior Center.

JOM is an extension of the American Bar Association’s National Judicial Outreach Week, which began in March 2017, and continues to expand across Massachusetts. Events will take place in schools, libraries, civic and cultural organizations, and community centers throughout the Commonwealth.

For more information on upcoming events or to learn how to host a judicial outreach visit, please contact the Public Outreach Committee at judicial.speakers@jud.state.ma.us. 

In case you missed it on Courtyard

Catch up on the latest court news and updates:

• 10 Black Legal Trailblazers Shaping Massachusetts History
• Mass Bar Association Lawyer Well-Being Committee and the Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers month-long mindfulness virtual program series
• Registration Is Now Open for the 5th Annual Massachusetts Trial Court Women’s History Month Awards Celebration & Conference

Executive Office Transmittals:

• Executive Office Transmittal 25-6: New Mass. R. Crim. P. 49 and New Restitution Findings and Order Form
• Executive Office Transmittal 25-5: 2025 Conflict of Interest Law Statutory Training Requires Two Parts: Acknowledge Receipt of Summary & Complete Online Training Program

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