A i l J < ? p ' A Public Document N o. 144 ,<£f- ¡r cxs- THIRTY-FIRST REPORT Judicial Council, of Massachusetts for 1955 CONTENTS OF THIS REPORT page T h e A ct C reating t h e C o u n c i l ...................................................................................4 R ecommendations A dopted in 1955 .................................................................................. 5 B ills R ecom m ended, R eported but no t E n a c t e d ....................................................6 B ills R ecom m ended, but no t R e p o r t e d ........................................................................6 N egative R ecomm'endations F o l l o w e d ........................................................................7 R eports R equested by t h e L egislature in 1 9 5 5 '.................................................. 7 C on current J urisdiction of t h e Su pr em e J udicial and t h e Superior C ourt—D raft A c t .................................................................................................................8 P ublic C ost of T rials and C ongestion in t h e Superior C ourt and Suggested R e m e d i e s ...................................................................................................... 8 1. C ost of J ury T rials i n w h ic h R ecovery was N o t h in g or L ess t h a n C ost of T r i a l .................................................................................. 8 2. D iscu ssio n of R emovals, J ury C la im s and a J ury F ee— D raft A c t .................................................................................................................9 3. R evision of R emoval B la nk s in D istrict C ourts and A m e n d ­ m e n t of Section 104 of G. L., C. 231— D raft A ct . 12 4. L im ited Oral D epo sitio n s of P arties before T rial—D raft A ct 12 5. P leading—D raft A c t .......................................................................................... 13 6. B etter P re-T rial P ractice (N o L egislation N eeded) . 14 7. Ot h e r S uggestions for C onsideration of t h e C ourt . 14 8. E x t e n t io n of C ha pter 668 of 1954 as to U se of D istrict C ourt J ustices in t h e S uperior C ourt—D raft A ct . 15 9. Ve n u e in D istrict C ourts—D raft A c t ..................................................47 B etter T itles for L a n d o w n e r s ....................................................................... H ouse 1389 to P rotect Against F ormal D efects—R eport R e­ quested—D raft A c t ....................................................................... 17 and 53 H ouse 1390 as to Obsolete R ig h ts of E ntry and P ossibilities of R everter—R eport R equested—D raft A c t ...................................................19 A n c ie n t L eases—D raft A c t .......................................................................................... 24 H ouse 1357 R elating to t h e D ea th Statutes—R eport R equested— D raft A c t ...................................................- .. 26 1 / ....................................Z ' - ' T ^ s o STATE LIBRARY OF MASSACHUSETTS Senate 302 foe a Statute o f Limitations U nder W orkmen’s C o m p e n ­ sation Law—R eport REQiiii§^D-4MAjbJ&3r R eport and D raft Act 30 H ouse 1607 for “A Supplementary R emedy” for I njuries in I ndustry —R eport R equested STAy E HOUSE, BOSTON' • • ■ ■ 33 H ouse 1115 as to E xamination of J urors—R eport R equested . 35 H ouse 1117 to P ermit a Verdict of 10 J urors in Civil Cases—R eport R equested . • ft&ss O K K lc lX L s .......................................36 H ouse 2144 R elative to I nheritance by I llegitimate C hildren and T heir R elatives—R eport R equested ....... 42 H ouse 1846 R elative to Appointm ent of Attorney by I nsurance Commissioner in Certain Cases—R eport R equested . 43 H ouse 616 R elative to C ertificates after Change of N ame—R eport R e q u e s t e d ........................................................................................................44 Appendix D of Senate 590 as to M andatory Sentence for Second Conviction of Gambling Offenses—R eport R equested . 45 Senate 39 R elative to C osts in Civil Actions—R eport R equested . 48 “Certified M ail” for N otices—Suggested Adjustments of Court R u l e s .........................................................................................................................48 Limited E xceptions by th e Commonwealth in Criminal Cases— R enewal—D raft Act ............................................................................................ 49 T elevising and Broadcasting T estimony—R enewal—D raft Act . 50 J ury Commissioners for a Limited D istrict—R enewal—D raft Act . 51 Am e n d m e n t of St. 1954, C. 6 1 6 .............................................................................51 Appendix A—Letter in Support of H ouse 1389 ..................................... 53 Appendix B—D istrict Court Business 1954-55 w ith Comment . 54 Appendix C—Circulars of Administrative Committee of J anuary 24, 1955 and N ovember 1, 1955 w ith Summary of Statutes and Recent Cases of I mportance to D istrict Co u r t s ..................................................... 56 Appendix D—P rovisions as to J ury Verdicts in Other States . • 72 Appendix E—I ndex to Statistical T ables 77 Appendix F—Annual Summary of W ork of th e Various Courts 78 w ith Statistical T a b l e s ....................................................................................lo (Emttmomm'ttlih of fftaasarljuHTiia D ecember, 1955. To His E xcellency, Christian A. H erter Governor of Massachusetts In accordance with the provisions of section 34B of chapter 221 of the General Laws (Ter. Ed.) we have the honor to transmit the thirty-first annual report of the Judicial Council for the year 1955 FRANK J. DONAHUE, Chairman, FREDERIC J. MULDOON, Vice-Chairman, LOUIS S. COX, JOHN E. FENTON, JOHN C. LEGGAT, ELIJAH ADLOW, FRANK L. RILEY, CHARLES W. BARTLETT, LIVINGSTON HALL. Acts of 1924, C hapter 244 As Amended by St. 1927, c. 923, St. 1930, c. 1/$, and St. 1947, c. 601 Now Appearing as G. L. (Ter. Ed.) Ch. 221, §§ 34A-34C An Act providing for th e E stablishment of a J udicial Council to make a C ontinuous Study of th e Organization, P rocedure and P ractice of th e Courts. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: Chapter two hundred and twenty-one of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section thirty-four, under the heading “Judicial Council,” the following three new sections—Section 34A. There shall be a Judicial Council for the continuous study of the organization, rules and methods of procedure and practice of the judicial system of the common­ wealth, the work accomplished, and the results produced by that system and its various parts. Said council shall be composed of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court or some other justice or former justice of that court appointed from time to time by him; the chief justice of the superior court or some other justice or former justice of that court appointed from time to time by him; the judge of the land court or some other judge or former judge of that court appointed from time to time by him; the chief justice of the municipal court of the city of Boston or some other justice or former justice of that court appointed from time to time by him; one judge of a probate court in the commonwealth and one justice of a district court in the commonwealth and not more than four members of the bar all to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the executive council. The appointments by the governor shall be for such periods, not exceeding four years, as he shall determine. Section S4B. The Judicial Council shall report annually on or before December first to the governor upon the work of the various branches of the judicial system. Said council may also from time to time submit for the consideration of the justices of the various courts such suggestions in regard to rules of practice and procedure as it may deem advisable. Section 34C. No member of said council, except as hereinafter provided, shall receive any compensation for his services, but said council and the several members thereof shall be allowed from the state treasury out of any appropriation made for the purpose such expenses for clerical and other services, travel and incidentals as the governor and council shall approve. The secretary of said council, whether or not a member thereof, shall receive from the commonwealth a salary of five thousand dollars. MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL F ra n k J. D o n a h u e of Boston, C h a i r m a n F rederic J. Muldoon of Westwood, Vice-Chairm an L o u is S. Cox of Lawrence F rank L. R il e y of Worcester J o h n E. F e n to n of Lawrence C h a r les W . B artlett of Dedham J o h n C. L eggat of Lowell L iv in g st o n H all of Concord E l ij a h Adlow of Boston F r a n k W. G r i n n e l l , S e c r e t a r y , 60 State St.f Boston THIRTY-FIRST REPORT OF THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS To His Excellency C h r i s t i a n A. H e r t e r , Governor of Massachusetts The Judicial Council was created by St.