(Applicable to all cases.)
A majority of the justices of this court may designate special masters and commissioners to deal with specified cases or with such matters as may be referred to them by a written order of a single justice or of a panel of the justices. The acts of such special master and commissioner, when confirmed or approved by a single justice or by a panel of the justices, as the case may be, shall have all the force and effect of a decision by a single justice or by a panel of the justices.
Mass. R. App. Prac. Reg. 2:03