Dear Chief Justice Gershengorn:
It has come to our attention that Judge Julie A. Lowre, after two years sitting on the Worcester Juvenile Court, has been transferred to Plymouth Juvenile Court. This transfer once again leaves the Worcester Juvenile Court, amongst the busiest in the Commonwealth, with five judges – a number that has proven over the past decade to be inadequate for the handling of time-sensitive youth cases in the communities we represent. We are struggling to understand the reasoning behind this transfer given Senator Moore’s five-plus year push to add a sixth judge to help deal with the large number of cases the Court faces.
While we understand that the Plymouth Juvenile Court is in need of judges, we are requesting clarification as to why and how Worcester was selected to have one of our critically needed judges transferred away. It has been just over six months since a sixth judge was confirmed to the Worcester Juvenile Court – a position that we’d like to reemphasize was created in 2018 via legislative action but not filled for six years – and this action returns us to a number of judges that has proven inadequate for the people of Worcester County. Children and families who have cases pending before the Court will now once again be told that they will face further delays.
During Senate budget debate for the FY19 budget, in response to calls from families, advocates, former judges, and city officials, Senator Moore worked with Senators Anne Gobi and Barbara L’Italien to introduce an amendment to the budget that would create a new judgeship on the Worcester Juvenile Court.[1] The legislature’s intent could not be more clear as the adopted amendment was titled “Worcester County Juvenile Court.”[2] The FY19 budget also correspondingly increased the legislative cap for the total number of trial court justices.[3] This action was meant to alleviate the stress our court faced due to the extreme number of cases before it. After these changes were signed into law as part of the FY19 budget, 21 state legislators wrote to Governor Baker stressing the need to fully empower the Worcester County Juvenile Court.[4] It took six years to fill this judgeship, and this transfer returns us to an inadequate status quo with no plan of action to fix it and no information from the Judiciary on if and when the decision will be reversed.
Statewide statistics show that the Worcester Juvenile Court is one of the busiest in Massachusetts when it comes to cases related to abuse and neglect. These are matters we take very seriously, especially in the shadow of the mishandling of the Harmony Montgomery case. If children in our community are being removed from their homes, they are owed a timely hearing before a judge to determine whether they will be best served by being returned to their homes or being placed with guardians. This process, which often takes years, leaves lasting trauma and negatively affects the development of these children during the most formative years of their lives.
We do not find it acceptable to extend the timeline of the resolution of these cases for individuals in my community. We also do not find it acceptable for the Court to decline to explain its decision.
We write to you to request a formal explanation of the decision-making process behind the transfer of Judge Lowre to the Plymouth Juvenile Court, including information about why Worcester was selected, whether other larger county juvenile courts were considered, and whether this move is permanent. We are also requesting that Judge Lowre be immediately transferred back to the Worcester Juvenile Court and would like a timeline on when this restoration will occur. In the meantime, we are requesting an explanation on what the Court is doing to alleviate the stress this puts on the children and families with cases currently before it. We understand that the Governor is responsible for filing judicial vacancies, but if the Judiciary is going to transfer appointed judges to other courts, it has a responsibility in this situation as well. The action you have taken has undermined years of legislative effort to increase the capacity of the Worcester County Juvenile Court; the least the Judiciary can do is provide the legislature with an explanation.
The futures of children in the communities we represent are literally on the line. We hope you will take this matter as seriously as we do.
Sincerely,
Senator Michael O. Moore, Second Worcester District
Councillor Paul M. DePalo, Governor’s Council District 7
[1] See St. 2018, c. 154, § 51 (Amending Section 58 of Chapter 218 of the General Laws by increasing the number of associate justices of the trial court for the juvenile court department to 5, up from 4.)
[2] See Amendment 999 to the FY19 Senate budget, https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FY2019/SenateDebate/Amendments/Worcester%20County%20Juvenile%20Court
[3] Id at. § 47 (Amending Section 1 of Chapter 211B of the General Laws by increasing the number of authorized trial court justices to 384, up from 383).
[4] See Letter to Governor Baker regarding the Situation in the Worcester County Juvenile Court (February 18, 2019) (attached).