Bos. Globe Media Partners, LLC v. Chief Justice of the Trial Court
Bos. Globe Media Partners, LLC v. Chief Justice of the Trial Court
Opinion of the Court
**81In Eagle-Tribune Publ. Co. v. Clerk-Magistrate of the Lawrence Div. of the Dist. Court Dep't,
We conclude that the requested show cause hearing records are not presumptively public under the common law, the First Amendment, or art. 16 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, as amended *749by art. 77 of the Amendments to the Constitution. We therefore deny the Globe's request for declaratory relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3. Any member of the public, however, may request that the records of a particular show cause hearing be made publicly available, and a clerk-magistrate or a judge shall grant such a request where the interests of justice so require.
To promote transparency, accountability, and public confidence in our judiciary with respect to the conduct of show cause hearings in the absence of a presumptive right of public access, we exercise our superintendence authority to require that all show cause hearings be electronically recorded. We also direct the Trial **82Court to establish uniform policies and procedures for the collection of information regarding show cause hearings. This information can be used to develop compilations that could be made available to the public upon request and, at the discretion of the Trial Court, periodically published. Such compilations will not, however, reveal the identities of the persons accused where no complaint issued.
Background. 1. Initiating a criminal case. Generally, the decision whether to charge an individual with a crime is made without the participation of the accused. "Many criminal prosecutions begin with [a warrantless] arrest, followed by the filing of an application for a complaint against the arrested person by a law enforcement officer."
An arrested individual, of course, has no right to be heard by a judicial officer before being arrested, and also has no right to dispute the existence of probable cause before the clerk-magistrate who decides whether to issue a criminal complaint. See Eagle-Tribune,
An individual likewise has no right to be heard by a grand jury before indictment. See Matter of a Grand Jury Subpoena,
But where a person has not been arrested or indicted and where **84a law enforcement officer or private citizen
Where the alleged crime is a felony and the complainant is a law enforcement officer, a show cause hearing shall be held only if the law enforcement officer requests it. G. L. c. 218, § 35A. See standard 3:08 & commentary of the Complaint Standards. Using our example of an altercation at a youth hockey game, this means that if a dangerous weapon is used in the assault and battery and a police officer applies for a felony complaint against the perpetrator, no show cause hearing will be held unless the police officer requests such a hearing. If the law enforcement officer chooses not to request a show cause hearing, the clerk-magistrate shall proceed as though the accused had been arrested and decide whether probable cause exists based only on information provided by the officer. G. L. c. 218, § 35A. See standard 3:08 & commentary of the Complaint Standards.
Where the complainant seeking felony charges is not a law enforcement officer, the clerk-magistrate may exercise his or her discretion to hold a show cause hearing. G. L. c. 218, § 35A. See standard 3:09 of the Complaint Standards. The Complaint Standards encourage clerk-magistrates to schedule show cause hearings for felony charges sought by private complainants "unless there are public safety or other reasons for not doing so."
Show cause hearings "bear[ ] little resemblance to a trial." Eagle-Tribune,
If the clerk-magistrate determines that there is not probable cause to believe that the accused committed the crime alleged, **86regardless of who applied for the complaint and whether the application alleges a felony or a misdemeanor, the clerk-magistrate must decline to issue the complaint. G. L. c. 218, § 35A. If the clerk-magistrate determines that there is probable cause, however, it matters whether a law enforcement officer or private citizen applied for the complaint, whether the application alleges a felony or a misdemeanor, and whether a prosecutor's office has communicated a decision to prosecute the case.
Where a law enforcement officer applies for a felony complaint, a clerk-magistrate who finds probable cause must authorize the complaint unless a prosecutor's office opposes its issuance. See standard 3:08 & commentary of the Complaint Standards. Where a private citizen applies for a felony complaint, or where anyone applies for a misdemeanor complaint, a clerk-magistrate who finds probable cause must authorize the complaint if the prosecutor's office communicates to the clerk-magistrate its intention to prosecute the case if probable cause is found. See Victory Distribs., Inc. v. Ayer Div. of the Dist. Court Dep't,
But where a private citizen applies for a felony or misdemeanor complaint and a prosecutor's office has not communicated a decision to prosecute the case, a clerk-magistrate may in the exercise of his or her discretion decline to issue a criminal complaint even where probable cause is found. See **87G. L. c. 218, § 35A (clerk-magistrate "may ... cause process to be issued unless there is no probable cause" [emphasis added] ); Victory Distribs., Inc.,
As we explained in Eagle-Tribune,
" '[t]he implicit purpose of the [§] 35A hearings is to enable the [clerk-magistrate] to screen a variety of minor criminal or potentially criminal matters out of the criminal justice system through a combination of counseling, discussion, or threat of prosecution -- techniques which might be described as characteristic, in a general way, of the process of mediation.' Snyder, Crime and Community Mediation -- The Boston Experience: A Preliminary Report on the Dorchester Urban Court Program,1978 Wis. L. Rev. 737 , 746-747, quoted with approval in Gordon v. Fay,382 Mass. 64 , 69-70,413 N.E.2d 1094 (1980).... Thus, 'a show cause hearing ... will often be used by a clerk-magistrate in an effort to bring about an informal settlement of grievances, typically relating to minor matters involving "the frictions and altercations of daily life." ' [ Commonwealth v. Clerk-Magistrate of the W. Roxbury Div. of the Dist. Court Dep't,439 Mass. 352 , 356,787 N.E.2d 1032 (2003) ], quoting Bradford v. Knights,427 Mass. 748 , 751,695 N.E.2d 1068 (1998)."
The records of these show cause hearings -- where a clerk-magistrate finds probable cause but declines to issue a criminal complaint -- are what the Globe contends are presumptively public judicial records.
Where a clerk-magistrate authorizes a criminal complaint, "the application, together with any record of the facts presented to the magistrate, including any recordings, becomes part of the criminal case file and is publicly available unless impounded by a judge." Standard 5:02 of the Complaint Standards. See Administrative **88Office of the District Court, A Guide to Public Access, Sealing & Expungement of District Court Records, at 12 (rev. Sept. 2013) (Guide to Public Access) ("Applications, police reports and other materials submitted to a clerk or judge in support of, or in opposition to, a criminal complaint that was subsequently issued" included among publicly available documents).
But where a clerk-magistrate declines to issue a criminal complaint, the application, together with any record of the facts presented to the magistrate, including any recordings, "shall be maintained separately from other records of such court." G. L. c. 218, § 35. See standard 5:01 of the Complaint Standards ("If a complaint is denied, the application form and any attachments must be kept separate from any criminal records"). In contrast with case files, which must be retained for at least ten years before being destroyed, see S.J.C. Rule 1:11, as appearing in
If the complainant seeks redetermination by a judge of the clerk-magistrate's decision to deny the issuance of a criminal complaint, the judge may examine the denied applications and the records associated with them. See standard 3:22 of the Complaint Standards. A request for redetermination is not formally an appeal, because there is no entitlement to review by a judge. See ibr.US_Case_Law.Schema.Case_Body:v1">id
2. The Globe's records requests and petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3. In 2017 and 2018, the Globe requested various data concerning show cause hearings held in the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court. The Trial Court responded to these requests by providing the Globe with summary tables from the 2016 and 2017 court years. These tables listed the number of show cause hearings scheduled in each of the divisions of the District Court Department and the Boston Municipal Court Department, the number of show cause hearings where probable cause was found and a criminal complaint issued, and the number of show cause hearings where probable cause was found and no criminal complaint issued. According to this data, there were a total of 126,596 scheduled show cause hearings in 2016 and 2017. In 18,134 (or approximately fourteen percent) of these hearings, a clerk-magistrate or judge found probable cause that the accused had committed a crime, but denied the application for issuance of a criminal complaint.
On January 8, 2018, the Globe requested the court records for those show cause hearings where a judicial officer declined to issue a criminal complaint after making a finding of probable cause. The Trial Court denied this request on January 31, reasoning that until a criminal complaint has issued, a show cause hearing record "is not yet a public court record, because the court would be publicly disclosing allegations of wrongdoing where no criminal process resulted." According to the stipulated facts, the Trial Court's policy and practice *755"is that the public has no greater right of access **90to records of [s]how [c]ause [h]earings in which an application for a complaint is denied after a finding of probable cause is made than it has to records of such hearings in which no finding of probable cause is made." See standard 5:02 of the Complaint Standards ("Denied applications, and any electronic record of the show cause hearing, are ... unavailable to the public unless a magistrate or judge makes a determination that the legitimate interest of the public outweighs any privacy interests of the accused"). On February 2, the Globe asked the Trial Court to reconsider its response to the records request. On March 6, the Trial Court declined to do so.
On October 11, the Globe filed a petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, seeking "review of the policy and practice ... of denying the public a presumptive common law or constitutional right of access to the records of show cause hearings conducted pursuant to G. L. c. 218, § 35A [,] after a judicial officer makes a finding of probable cause but nevertheless declines to issue process or a criminal complaint." A single justice of the county court reserved and reported the case for determination by the full court.
Discussion. The Globe argues that the public has a presumptive right to access the requested records under the common law, the First Amendment, and art. 16. We evaluate these claims in turn.
1. Common-law claim. The Globe contends that the records of § 35A hearings resulting in a finding of probable cause but not the issuance of a criminal complaint are "judicial records," which under our common law are presumptively available to the public. It is true, as set forth in G. L. c. 218, § 35, that these records are "filed" with the court, albeit "maintained separately from other records of such court." In practice, we understand this to mean that denied applications for a criminal complaint and their accompanying records must be kept physically apart from the case files of criminal and civil cases. See Victory Distribs., Inc.,
When this court has applied the common-law presumption of public access to judicial records, we have generally done so in response to a request for one of three types of records: (1) records kept in the case files of criminal and civil cases, see, e.g., Commonwealth v. Pon,
By their very nature, the records sought by the Globe fall outside the first category of judicial records -- they cannot be located in a "case file" because they relate to allegations that never resulted in a criminal case. See Mass. R. Crim. P. 3 (a), as appearing in
The Globe recognizes that the requested records are not associated with a criminal case, but contends that denied applications for a criminal complaint are akin to search warrant and inquest records, which are presumptively public in the circumstances described below regardless of whether the investigation yields a criminal complaint. We disagree.
Search warrant records, as a matter of both common law and statute, "are judicial records to which the public's presumptive right of access applies once the warrant has been returned." George W. Prescott Publ. Co.,
And inquest reports, which become presumptively public once a prosecutor "files a certificate asserting that the case will not be presented to a grand jury, or files notice that a grand jury has returned an indictment or a no bill," are also distinguishable from applications for a criminal complaint that are denied at a show cause hearing. Globe Newspaper Co., petitioner,
Although show cause hearing records are distinguishable from the records to which we have previously applied the presumption of public access, the Globe claims that the presumption applies to all records filed with the court and therefore, in effect, that we should include denied applications for criminal complaints where probable cause is found as a fourth category of presumptively public judicial records. The Globe's argument is not without merit. We have long recognized that public access to court records promotes transparency, accountability, and public confidence **93in our judiciary. "[I]t is of the highest moment that those who administer justice should always act under the sense of public responsibility, and that every citizen should be able to satisfy himself with his own eyes as to the mode in which a public duty is performed." George W. Prescott Publ. Co.,
And we recognize, based in part on data that the Trial Court furnished to the Globe regarding show cause hearings held in the various divisions of the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court, that show cause hearings may warrant a "watchful eye" from the public and journalists, and that the public and the judicial system may benefit from a better understanding of the justice that is provided at such hearings. The data appears to reveal wide disparities among courts in the percentage of show cause hearings that resulted in a finding of probable cause in 2017: in the Boston Municipal Court, the percentage ranged from a high of 85.2 percent in the Central Division to a low of 42.2 percent in the Dorchester Division; in the District Court, it ranged from a high of 92.2 percent in the East Brookfield Division to a low of 21.6 percent in the Chelsea Division. Comparable disparities existed that year in the percentage of show cause hearings where probable cause was found but no criminal complaint issued: in the Boston Municipal Court, the percentage ranged from a high of 21.5 percent in the Brighton Division to a low of 4.2 percent in the Charlestown Division; in the District Court, it ranged from a high of 43.9 percent in the Gloucester Division to **94a low of 0.2 percent in the Chelsea Division.
But we also recognize that show cause hearings are fundamentally different from the sorts of proceedings and records that have warranted a presumption of publicity. In fact, they are most closely analogous to grand jury proceedings, which have long been shielded from the public eye. As with show cause hearings, grand jury proceedings "precede the formal initiation of criminal prosecution and employ the same 'probable cause to arrest' standard." Eagle-Tribune,
A denied application for a criminal complaint following a show cause hearing is comparable to a no bill issued by a grand jury. Although no bills are submitted to a judge and filed with the court, see Mass. R. Crim. P. 5 (f), as appearing in
Similarly, if applications for criminal complaints were deemed judicial records presumptively available to the public, anyone would be able to access records revealing that an individual had been accused in a show cause hearing where no criminal complaint issued. This individual could then face serious collateral consequences, which would be contrary to the purpose of show cause hearings: to protect and benefit the accused, and to "screen a variety of minor criminal or potentially criminal matters out of the criminal justice system" (citation omitted). See Eagle-Tribune,
Although the Globe seeks the requested records for journalistic purposes, we may not discriminate among requesters if the information sought is publicly available as a court record. See rule 2(b) of the Uniform Rules on Public Access to Court Records, Trial Court Rule XIV (2016) ("Any member of the public may submit to the [c]lerk at a courthouse a request to access a court record," and "shall not be required to disclose the reason for the request"). If past is prologue, there will be approximately 9,000 show cause hearings per year in Massachusetts where probable cause is found but no criminal complaint issues. Under the criminal **96offender record information (CORI) statutory scheme, these records would not be available to any landlord or employer because no complaint issued. See G. L. c. 6, § 167 (CORI "shall be restricted to information recorded in criminal proceedings that are not dismissed before arraignment"); 803 Code Mass. Regs. § 2.05 (2017). But if we were to hold that these records are publicly available under our common law, landlords, employers, and others would be able to access information contained in the records of show cause hearings that resulted in a finding of probable cause (including the name of the accused and the alleged criminal offense) and use it in making housing, employment, and other important decisions affecting the lives of accused individuals, even though no criminal complaint ever issued.
This court has previously recognized that an individual's criminal record can have "long-term collateral consequences" for that individual when it is accessible by landlords and employers. Pon,
There is no reason to believe that landlords and employers would treat a clerk-magistrate's recorded finding of probable cause -- even when it does not result in a criminal complaint and therefore does not result in prosecution or a criminal record -- significantly differently from a criminal record. A finding of probable cause, after all, is a judicial determination that there was sufficient evidence of criminality to launch a criminal case. And in the course of a show cause hearing, accused individuals seeking to compromise and resolve minor disputes may make concessions or admissions that they would not make in the context of a criminal trial. For employers and landlords, who may be risk-averse and often have no shortage of qualified applicants, *760a finding of probable cause -- particularly when it is accompanied by various recorded admissions -- might be reason enough to pass over an otherwise qualified prospective employee or tenant.
And because there is no opportunity to challenge a finding of probable cause where a criminal complaint does not issue, there **97would be no simple way for accused individuals to demonstrate to employers and landlords that they were innocent of the claims against them. In this regard, the Globe's request targets the very individuals who would be most prejudiced by public access to the records of their show cause hearings -- those whose hearings resulted in a finding of probable cause, but who had no opportunity to challenge the evidence at trial. Thus, if members of the public were permitted to learn of probable cause determinations even where they did not result in a criminal complaint, show cause hearings would transform from an opportunity to effect "informal settlement of grievances" (citation omitted) with "minimal harm to the accused's reputation," Eagle-Tribune,
The Globe contends that concerns about the collateral consequences arising from release of the requested records can be adequately addressed through the existing impoundment procedure, which allows presumptively public judicial records to be removed from public view by court order.
Where records are presumptively public, a court generally "may enter an order of impoundment for good cause shown and in accordance with applicable law only after a hearing," during which "the court shall consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to, (i) the nature of the parties and the controversy, (ii) the type of information and the privacy interests involved, (iii) the extent of community interest, (iv) constitutional rights, and (v) the reason(s) for the request." Rule 7(a)-(b) of the Uniform Rules on Impoundment Procedure. If the court finds good cause to protect **98the relevant documents from public view, it may enter an order of impoundment, which shall be tailored in scope "so that it does not exceed the need for impoundment." Rule 8(a), (c) of the Uniform Rules on Impoundment Procedure. The requirements of impoundment are properly demanding, as "impoundment is always the exception to the rule, and the power to deny public access to judicial records is to be strictly construed in favor of the general principle of publicity" (quotation and citation omitted). Republican Co. v. Appeals Court,
We conclude that it would be unduly burdensome to accused individuals, *761and out of balance with the public interest, to require such individuals to move for impoundment where a § 35A hearing results in a finding of probable cause but not the issuance of a criminal complaint. Many accused individuals may be unaware of their right to move for impoundment, and reluctant to navigate the process of filing a motion, attending a hearing, and arguing good cause. And these individuals, unlike those who are charged with a crime, would have no right to the assistance of an attorney who could advise them, when appropriate, on the need for impoundment and the procedure for obtaining it. See Mass. R. Crim. P. 8 (right to counsel attaches when "defendant charged with a crime" initially appears in court); commentary to standard 3:17 of the Complaint Standards (accused persons are often not represented by counsel at show cause hearings). Practically speaking, this means that few accused individuals would be savvy enough to move for impoundment to protect the records of their hearings from public view. And, for those savvy enough to move to impound, the justification for impoundment would generally be the risk of collateral consequences arising from the probable cause finding, an argument that would be common to virtually all who are similarly situated. The opportunity to move for impoundment, thus, is an inadequate solution to the significant problems that could arise were we to conclude that the presumption of publicity applies to the records of show cause hearings not resulting in the issuance of a criminal complaint. We therefore hold that there is no common-law presumption of public access to such records.
This conclusion, we believe, is consistent with the Legislature's decision to require that the records of denied criminal complaints -- regardless of whether they resulted in a finding of probable cause -- be maintained separately from other court records. G. L. c. 218, § 35. To be sure, if we had concluded that these records enjoy a presumption of public access under our **99common law, we would not find this legislative directive to be sufficiently clear as to reflect an intent to modify the common law. See Globe Newspaper Co., petitioner,
2. Constitutional claims. Having determined that there is no presumptive right of access to the records of show cause hearings where no complaint issues under *762the common law, we now address whether there is such a presumptive right under either the First Amendment or art. 16.
a. First Amendment. The First Amendment "confers a qualified right of public access to certain judicial proceedings," and the media's right of access "derives entirely from the public's right of access." Eagle-Tribune,
In order for the First Amendment right to attach, "the proceeding must satisfy a two-part test of 'experience' and 'logic': (1) the type of proceeding must have a historic tradition of openness, and (2) public access must 'play[ ] a significant positive role in the **100functioning of the particular process in question.' " Eagle-Tribune,
Show cause hearings "fail the 'experience' test because there is no tradition of public access to this type of proceeding," which is unlike a trial or a probable cause hearing and has always been "presumptively private and as informal as circumstances will permit" (citation and alterations omitted).
We conclude that our First Amendment analysis concerning the right to attend a show cause hearing is equally applicable to the right to view the records of a show cause hearing. See Newspapers of New England, Inc.,
b. Art. 16. The Globe argues that because the press clause of art. 16 predates the enactment of the First Amendment, its construction should not be limited to that of its Federal counterpart.
3. Requests for specific show cause hearing records. Our conclusion that the Globe has no common-law or constitutional presumptive right to access all of the requested records does not necessarily mean that it has no right to access some of them. It merely means that if the Globe (or any other person or entity) wishes to see the records of a particular show cause hearing or a particular subset of show cause hearings, it will have to specifically request those records.
In Eagle-Tribune,
In considering individual records requests, the clerk-magistrate should balance the interests of transparency, accountability, and public confidence that might be served by making the requested records public against the risk that disclosure would unfairly result in adverse collateral consequences to the accused. As we noted in Eagle-Tribune,
We endorse the recommendation of the Trial Court Working Group on Complaint Standards, which was established in 2018 "to examine the processes related to the initiation of criminal proceedings of a person who has not been arrested pursuant to G. L. c. 218, § 35A," that the Complaint Standards be revised to identify " 'best practices' for determining whether to open a hearing to the public or to make records of a hearing available to the public." Report of the Trial Court Working Group on Complaint Standards, at 1, 8 (2019) (Working Group Report).
**1034. Audio-recording requirement. We recognize that, although the records of a particular show cause hearing can be made available on request where the interests of justice so require, the interests of transparency, accountability, and public confidence cannot adequately be served if there is no audio recording of the hearing and therefore no way to ascertain all of the information that was presented to the clerk-magistrate at that hearing. And without an audio recording, a judge who is asked to redetermine a clerk-magistrate's decision to decline to issue a complaint after a show cause hearing and who wants to ensure that he or she knows all of the information presented to the clerk-magistrate would need to order a new hearing and bring back to court all those who attended the initial show cause hearing.
Moreover, if allegations were to surface that a clerk-magistrate acted inappropriately during a show cause hearing, such as by favoring a certain attorney, or by acting differently based on the race, gender, nationality, or citizenship of a litigant, or by acting abusively toward a litigant or attorney, an electronic recording would be the best evidence as to whether such misconduct occurred (and also the best means for a clerk-magistrate to refute an unfair allegation). Indeed, without electronic recording, there is little that the Trial Court reasonably can do to hold clerk-magistrates accountable for the manner in which they conduct such hearings.
The Complaint Standards already declare that "[i]t is good practice for all show cause hearings to be electronically recorded, *765subject to the availability of appropriate recording devices." Standard 3:16 of the Complaint Standards. The commentary to this standard uses even more forceful language, declaring that "[i]t is strongly recommended that a show cause hearing conducted by a magistrate be electronically recorded." And where a judge conducts a show cause hearing, it must be electronically recorded. See rule 211(A)(1) of the Special Rules of the District Courts (1988); commentary to standard 3:16 of the Complaint Standards. Yet, according to the Working Group Report, only approximately one-third of the District Court's sixty-two divisions electronically record show cause hearings conducted by a **104clerk-magistrate without a request from the accused or complainant. Working Group Report, at 9. And none of the divisions of the Boston Municipal Court records such hearings absent a request. Id. at 9-10.
We exercise our superintendence authority over all trial courts "for the furtherance of justice" and "the improvement of the administration of such courts" to direct the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court to convert the "good practice" of recording show cause hearings into a required practice. G. L. c. 211, § 3. This directive is in keeping with our requirement that grand jury proceedings, which are similar in many ways to show cause hearings, be recorded. See Commonwealth v. Grassie,
We have carefully considered the argument that recording show cause hearings will interfere with clerk-magistrates' ability to informally resolve disputes involving minor crimes because complainants and accused individuals may be reluctant to speak candidly "on the record." We heard comparable concerns about requiring "lobby conferences" with judges regarding a possible plea agreement to be conducted on the record. Those fears have not been realized in the four years since this requirement was added to our rules of criminal procedure. See Mass. R. Crim. P. 12 (b) (2), as appearing in
We recognize that implementing our directive that all show cause hearings be electronically recorded will take time, money, and training. We note, as to each of these concerns, that we do not **105require that the electronic recording of show cause hearings conducted by clerk-magistrates be identical in its technology or its quality to the electronic recording of court room proceedings in criminal and civil cases. We leave it to the Trial Court to determine how best and most efficiently to accomplish the recording requirement, but we *766expect it to be accomplished within one year of the issuance of this opinion.
5. Data collection and compilation. The electronic recording of show cause hearings will enhance accountability, but it will do little to enhance transparency and public confidence where most show cause hearings will be closed and most recordings will not be publicly available unless a criminal complaint issues. We are persuaded, however, that the transparency of show cause hearings can be enhanced and that public confidence can be earned without creating the unfair collateral consequences that would arise from the public availability of show cause hearing records where no complaint issues.
This can be accomplished by the Trial Court establishing uniform record-making and record-keeping policies and procedures for the collection of information regarding show cause hearings, including information relevant to potential concerns about favoritism and disparity of outcomes. This information can then be used to develop compilations that would reveal substantial information regarding show cause hearings, but would not reveal the identities of the persons accused.
We leave it to the Trial Court to determine the most effective method by which to collect data in a way that can be compiled for **106dissemination upon request, that responds to concerns about favoritism and disparate outcomes, and that does not identify the accused where a complaint did not issue.
Conclusion. We deny the Globe's request for declaratory relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3, and conclude that there is not a presumptive right of public access to the records of all show cause hearings where a judicial officer finds probable cause to believe that the accused has committed a crime but declines to issue a criminal complaint. We recognize, however, that there are circumstances in which the interests of justice would require the records of particular show cause hearings to be made publicly available on request.
To promote transparency, accountability, and public confidence in our judiciary with respect to the conduct of show cause hearings in the absence of a presumptive right of public access, we exercise our superintendence authority to require that all show cause hearings be electronically recorded. We also direct the Trial Court to establish uniform policies and procedures for the collection of information regarding show cause hearings that can be used to develop informative compilations without revealing the identities of the persons accused. Such compilations could be made available to the public upon request pursuant to the Uniform Rules **107on Public Access to Court Records, and published periodically at the Trial Court's discretion.
So ordered.
For the sake of simplicity, we refer to the judicial officers who conduct show cause hearings as "clerk-magistrates." We acknowledge, however, that show cause hearings may be held before a judge, a clerk, an assistant clerk, a temporary clerk, or a temporary assistant clerk. G. L. c. 218, § 35A.
We acknowledge the amicus briefs submitted by the Association of Magistrates and Assistant Clerks of the Trial Court; by Greater Boston Legal Services and the Union of Minority Neighborhoods; by Harvard Defenders, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, and City Life/Vida Urbana; and by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.
Under Massachusetts common law, police officers have the authority to make warrantless arrests in certain "limited circumstances." Lunn v. Commonwealth,
Where an individual is arrested following the issuance of an arrest warrant, a criminal complaint or indictment will already have issued. See Mass. R. Crim. P. 6 (b),
The District Court Standards of Judicial Practice: The Complaint Procedure (2008) (Complaint Standards), while "lacking the force of law or rules," "are administrative regulations promulgated by the Chief Justice of the District Court that are treated as statements of desirable practice to be followed in the District Courts" (quotation, citation, and alteration omitted). Eagle-Tribune Publ. Co. v. Clerk-Magistrate of the Lawrence Div. of the Dist. Court Dep't,
Although the Boston Municipal Court is not subject to the Complaint Standards, see Matter of an Application for a Criminal Complaint,
We use the term "private citizen" because it is the term commonly used to describe a private person who is not a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or other public official. By using the term, we do not mean to suggest that United States citizenship is a prerequisite for a private person to apply for a complaint; any person, whether citizen or noncitizen, documented or undocumented, may seek a criminal complaint.
General Laws c. 218, § 35A, provides in relevant part:
"If a complaint is received by a district court, or by a justice, associate justice or special justice thereof, or by a clerk, assistant clerk, temporary clerk or temporary assistant clerk thereof under [G. L. c. 218, § 32, 33, or 35 ], as the case may be, the person against whom such complaint is made, if not under arrest for the offense for which the complaint is made, shall, in the case of a complaint for a misdemeanor or a complaint for a felony received from a law enforcement officer who so requests, and may, in the discretion of any said officers in the case of a complaint for a felony which is not received from a law enforcement officer, be given an opportunity to be heard personally or by counsel in opposition to the issuance of any process based on such complaint unless there is an imminent threat of bodily injury, of the commission of a crime, or of flight from the commonwealth by the person against whom such complaint is made. The court or said officers referred to above shall consider the named defendant's criminal record and the records contained within the statewide domestic violence record keeping system maintained by the office of the commissioner of probation in determining whether an imminent threat of bodily injury exists. Unless a citation as defined in [G. L. c. 90C, § 1,] has been issued, notice shall also be given of the manner in which he may be heard in opposition as provided herein. The court, or said officer thereof, may upon consideration of the evidence, obtained by hearing or otherwise, cause process to be issued unless there is no probable cause to believe that the person who is the object of the complaint has committed the offense charged."
Regardless of the crime alleged and the identity of the complainant, no show cause hearing is available where "there is an imminent threat of bodily injury, of the commission of a crime, or of flight from the commonwealth by the person against whom such complaint is made." G. L. c. 218, § 35A.
We recognize that under standard 3:08 of the Complaint Standards, a clerk-magistrate need not assume that a prosecutor intends to prosecute every criminal complaint sought by a law enforcement officer. Where a prosecutor's office has not communicated a decision to pursue a criminal complaint brought by a law enforcement officer and where the clerk-magistrate determines -- perhaps after discussing the matter with a prosecutor -- that prosecution is not likely despite the existence of probable cause, the clerk-magistrate may decline to authorize the complaint even though it was brought by a law enforcement officer.
The destruction provisions of G. L. c. 218, § 35, do not apply to complaint applications made pursuant to G. L. c. 90, § 20C, which concerns motor vehicle offenses.
The Trial Court Working Group on Complaint Standards, described infra, recommends that individuals applying for a criminal complaint "be provided notice that they may seek redetermination of a denial of a complaint by a judge and that [they] may request the Attorney General or [d]istrict [a]ttorney to review the allegations for prosecution." Working Group Report, at 7. We endorse this recommendation.
"Under G. L. c. 38, § 8, the Attorney General or a district attorney may direct that an inquest into the death of any person be held before a judge in the District Court." Globe Newspaper Co., petitioner,
In providing this data to Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC (the Globe), the Trial Court noted that it reflected the resolution of show cause hearings "as reported through MassCourts." The Trial Court added, "While all courts use MassCourts to schedule a probable cause hearing, not all courts or court personnel ... record a finding or denial of probable cause or dismissal on every application for criminal complaint in MassCourts.... The accurate record reflecting exactly what has occurred is the paper docket."
In Massachusetts, grand jury materials are also protected from public inspection by statute. See G. L. c. 268, § 13D (e ) ("Any grand jury transcript or document citing or describing grand jury testimony filed with any court shall be filed and maintained under seal, unless the paper is filed in a criminal prosecution for perjury before a grand jury").
" 'Impoundment' shall mean the act of keeping some or all of the case record separate and unavailable for public inspection. Impounded records are not accessible to anyone other than the court, clerk, authorized court personnel, attorneys of record, and the parties to the case, unless otherwise ordered. ... 'Impounded' information includes material that a statute, court rule, standing order, case law, or court order designates must be withheld as 'impounded,' 'withheld from public inspection,' 'not available for public inspection,' 'segregated,' or 'confidential,' though these terms are not exhaustive." Rule 1(b)(9) of the Uniform Rules on Impoundment Procedure, Trial Court Rule VIII (2015).
We note that where an individual is arrested without a warrant and a judicial officer determines that there is not probable cause to detain that individual, "[t]he order [releasing the individual from custody] and a written determination of the judicial officer shall be filed in the District Court having jurisdiction over the location of the arrest, together with all the written information submitted by the police. These documents shall be filed separately from the records of criminal and delinquency cases, but shall be public records." Mass. R. Crim. P. 3.1 (f),
Art. 16 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, as amended by art. 77 of the Amendments to the Constitution, provides:
"The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom in a state: it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this commonwealth. The right of free speech shall not be abridged."
We note that on August 3, 2018, the Globe did request the records of a particular show cause hearing from the clerk-magistrate of the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court. The court declined to provide the requested records, and the Globe does not challenge that particular decision here.
Where a clerk-magistrate denies a records request, the requester may bring that denial to a judge for redetermination. To facilitate this review and to promote accountability, "we encourage clerk-magistrates to make a written record of the reason for their decision" regarding public access in all cases where a request for show cause hearing records is made. See Eagle-Tribune,
Because the compilations will not include identifying information, they will not be subject to the one-year destruction timeline outlined in G. L. c. 218, § 35.
"Compiled data" is defined as "electronic court records that have been generated by computerized searches of Trial Court case management database(s) resulting in the compilation of specific data elements." Rule 1(e) of the Uniform Rules on Public Access to Court Records, Trial Court Rule XIV (2016). Requests for compiled data must "identify what compiled data is sought" and "describe the purpose for requesting the compiled data." Rule 3(a). "The Court Administrator, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Trial Court, shall have discretion to grant or deny any request or part thereof for compiled data." Rule 3(b).
According to the Trial Court, it is currently working to standardize the record-keeping practices used to collect show cause hearing data, which have thus far varied based on docketing procedures in various divisions of the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court.
Where this information is in doubt, the clerk-magistrate should request that it be self-reported by the complainant and accused. Cf. Commonwealth v. Bastaldo,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC v. CHIEF JUSTICE OF the TRIAL COURT & another.
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published