Procedure Regulating the Issuance of Standing OrdersThe following procedure regulating the issuance of Standing Orders is hereby promulgated for use in all Departments of the Trial Court. The procedure establishes general requirements which are applicable to all Departments. If necessary, additional procedures to regulate matters of concern to individual departments may be promulgated on a departmental basis.
1. Effective forthwith, all Standing Orders, except those issued by the Administrative Justices of the Departments of the Trial Court, are hereby vacated and shall have no further effect. 2. Standing Orders presently in effect issued by the Administrative Justices shall be submitted to Lawyers' Weekly for publication and shall be forwarded to the office of each Clerk-Magistrate and Register in the Department. 3. No Standing Order shall be issued by a Justice of the Trial Court unless it has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Administrative Justice of that Department. 4. All proposed Standing Orders shall be submitted by the Administrative Justices for review by the Chief Administrative Justice no later than 30 days before their proposed effective date. The Chief Administrative Justice shall review the proposed Standing Orders to ensure that they do not conflict with the Orders of other Departments. 5. When circumstances require immediate action, Standing Orders may be issued with the oral approval of the Administrative Justice, with subsequent compliance with the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4. 6. Standing Orders shall be numbered sequentially, the number of each Standing Order to include the year in which the order becomes effective. 7. Unless circumstances require immediate action, all Standing Orders shall be submitted for publication in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and posted in all Clerk-Magistrates' or Registers' offices in the Department not less than fifteen days prior to their effective date. The Administrative Justices shall provide the Clerk-Magistrates and Registers with copies of each Standing Order. 8. Each Clerk-Magistrate, Register and the office of each Administrative Justice shall keep a file of all Standing Orders currently in effect in the Department. An index of the Standing Orders shall also be maintained. The index and Standing Orders shall be available to the public. 9. All Standing Orders shall also be filed in the Office of the Chief Administrative Justice. The Office of the Chief Administrative Justice shall keep an index and file of all Standing Orders issued in all Departments of the Trial Court