Section 26A. The program for performance evaluation, as described in section twenty-six of this chapter, shall include, but not be limited to, a questionnaire, to be designed and implemented by the supreme judicial court. Said questionnaires shall be given to attorneys, parties and jurors appearing before a judge in each trial and in addition to each trial, in a representative sample of cases, so they may evaluate the performance of the judge. The questionnaire shall include, but not be limited to, questions relative to the judge's performance, demeanor, judicial management skills, legal ability, attentiveness, bias and degree of preparedness. Completed questionnaires shall be returned to the supreme judicial court, unsigned, within thirty days of the completion of the case or trial and all responses shall remain confidential. The data collected from each questionnaire shall be compiled and once the data has been compiled, the questionnaire from which the data was collected shall be destroyed.
The chief justice of the trial court shall establish the method and means by which the questionnaires shall be distributed, collected, verified and compiled.
Judges with one to four years service shall be evaluated every twelve to eighteen months and judges with more than four years service shall be evaluated every eighteen to thirty-six months. A minimum of twenty-five responses shall be compiled before a judge is evaluated. The supreme judicial court, or their designees, shall conduct the evaluation of a judge. When an evaluation of an individual judge is complete, it shall be made available to that judge and discussed with him.
Structure Massachusetts General Laws
Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases
Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers
Chapter 211 - The Supreme Judicial Court
Section 1 - Number of Justices
Section 2a - Statement of Expenses and Costs
Section 3 - Superintendence of Inferior Courts; Power to Issue Writs and Process
Section 3a - Administrative Assistant
Section 3b - Conferences of Judges
Section 4 - Removal of Officers
Section 4a - Transfer of Causes Between Supreme Judicial Court and Lower Courts
Section 5 - Questions of Law; Hearing by Full Court
Section 6 - Questions of Law; Reservation
Section 7 - Questions of Law; Argument; Order
Section 8 - Judgment or Rescript After Decision
Section 9 - Records and Rescripts; Contents
Section 10 - Frivolous Appeals; Costs and Interest
Section 12 - Law Sittings; Adjournments
Section 14 - Transfer of Cases by Full Court
Section 15 - Criminal Cases; Hearings
Section 16 - Hearing in Boston of Questions Arising in Other Counties
Section 17 - Jury Sittings; Times and Places of Sittings
Section 18 - Sittings at Fall River; Adjournments
Section 19 - Dukes or Nantucket County Cases; Place of Trial
Section 20 - Powers of Justices at Jury and Law Sittings
Section 21 - Audit of Accounts
Section 22 - Salaries of Justices; Expenses; Practice of Law Prohibited
Section 24 - Services of Retired Justices
Section 25 - Disability Benefits Project
Section 26 - Program for Evaluation of Judicial Performance
Section 26b - Judicial Evaluation Standards; Disciplinary Procedures
Section 27 - Pre-Service and In-Service Training Programs for Justices; Administration
Section 28 - Leave of Absence for Study, Research, etc.; Restrictions