How Did Marshall Respond to the Condemnation of Her as the Head of Our Court System?
          Marshall responded to the condemnation of her by spinning everything. And it worked!
            She swung into action on the very day she released the Report. However, she did not release it until her response was ready --- even though the panel had prepared a "Press Release" titled: "Courts Mired in Managerial Confusion, Says Blue-Ribbon Court Reform Panel." But she wouldn't release the damaging press release until she was prepared. It was a very smart, crafty maneuver. She was now in charge.
            None of the media wrote about the Report, with the exception of MassNews. Most editors at the Globe and other dailies around the state still do not know of the Report's existence.
            Even the conservative talk-shows don't know. They're forced to follow the Globe because they don't have reporters of their own. The topics discussed each day by talk-show hosts almost always are determined after the producers read the morning newspapers, primarily the Globe.

How Did Marshall Do It?
            Judge Marshall had to pretend she was giving a thoughtful response in a quiet, elegant, ladylike manner.
            Her "thoughtful response" is on the official SJC website with twenty photographs of Marshall and staff "in action". The title is "Supreme Judicial Court Justices Meet with Court Managers of Courts throughout Massachusetts." Above it is: "Visiting Committee Meetings Photo Series."
            She first signaled her approach on March 4, 2003 when she released the panel's Report and her response. "We plan to consult broadly with judicial and non-judicial leaders. We will invite comments from all quarters of the Commonwealth. The Visiting Committee has made clear the urgency of the challenge. We will begin to implement managerial change as rapidly as possible."
            Every one of the seven SJC judges appears in least one of the twenty photographs of the "Photo Series," which show the SJC judges talking with other members of the court system. That was hardly inviting comments "from all quarters."
           The important persons in the "Photo Series" are all judges and others who are part of the system. It's judges talking with other judges or District Attorneys who are also part of the court system and are very anxious to please. There is no one from the Visiting Committee nor any of the trial judges that MassNews interviewed.
            The major exception is the only picture of Marshall showing her welcoming three leaders of business to the chambers of the SJC, i.e., to her home and surrounded by the symbols of her power.
            The business leaders were: ● John Lynch, member of the Board of Directors of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, ● Richard Lord, President of Associated Industries and ● Michael Widmer, President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The attorney for Associated Industries, Robert Ruddock, also attended.
            Although these were probably all fine people, there was no diversity. Why were 75% from only one organization? Why did Marshall not include other business leaders? The answer is clear: these people were picked with care as friends of Marshall. There was no one present who would not agree with her. There was no attempt to meet with a cross-section of business leaders and really ask what their problems were and whether the courts were doing their job.
            When the SJC judges left their impressive chambers as they did, for example, at the Northampton Courthouse where representatives from Berkshire, Franklin and Hampden Counties gathered, only local judges, clerks and chief probation officers were invited. 

Judge Margaret Marshall greets the President of the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation and two officers of Associated Industries of Massachusetts. The attorney for Associated Industries was also present.

When a meeting was held outside of Boston as shown here in Northampton, only local judges, clerks and chief probation officers were invited to the secret meeting.

When a meeting was held of lawyers in the state, only officers of the sycophant Massachusetts Bar Association were invited. Although the MBA claims about 15,000 of the approximate 80,000 lawyers in the state, even those numbers are suspect because the MBA gives membership to thousands of "new" lawyers at no charge and never reveals how many of its members never requested to be a member. In addition, many join only to buy their insurance at low rates. These eight people clearly do not represent the other 79,992 lawyers in the state.

The Original News Release on the Report can be found at :
http://www.mass.gov/courts/combinedkit0304.pdf

All Twenty Pictures Can be Found HERE