June 23, 2023

Greetings and happy summer. Just a quick update to share information about text reminder services and two access to justice related reports from the national landscape.

Update on Text Reminders “eReminders”

Thank you again for joining us at our winter Commission meeting during which Pamerson Ifill, Deputy Commissioner, Pre-Trial Services, Massachusetts Probation Services (MPS) provided an informative presentation and discussion on the MPS Text Messaging Reminder System, and we had a conversation about text messaging and its potential to reduce defaults generally.

As an update on text messaging in the Trial Court Departments, “[i]n April 2023, several Trial Court Departments (Boston Municipal Court, District Court, Housing Court, Probate and Family Court, and Superior Court) began offering text reminder services in several civil case types. This text reminder service, also known as eReminders, sends text notifications to parties of their scheduled court events in a specific case (identified by docket number). Text reminders will be sent 4 days, as well as 1 day, before the date of the next court event. Message and data rates may apply. Importantly, this service is provided as a courtesy only. Parties should refer to their event notice from the court for more details. To enroll in this service, visit mass.gov/forms/civil-court-date-text-reminders.”

Access to Justice Related Reports from the National Landscape

• The White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable, a convening of 28 federal agencies organized under the Office for Access to Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, published the 2022 Report: “Access to Justice through Simplification: A Roadmap for People-Centered Simplification of Federal Government Forms, Processes, and Language. “The 2022 Roundtable Report highlights strategies to simplify government forms and processes so the American people can access federal programs, services, and benefits without the need for legal help.”

• The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)  recently released a Report: “The Landscape of Allied Legal Professional Programs in the United States” “This report examines why many states have begun to create a new tier of legal service providers who are not lawyers, or Allied Legal Professionals, and describes the similarities and differences between each program.”

Thank you and enjoy the weekend.

Best,
Carolyn