whom I have talked. In Massachu-
setts a Judge may be removed only by
legislative action, but he can be re-
tired by the Governor with the advice
and consent of the Governor's Coun-
cil upon proof of physical or mental
incapacity.
"When I became Chief Justice in
November of 1962, the Associate
Justices were serviced by two law
clerks and two secretaries. They now
have four secretaries and ten law
clerks to assist them with their work.
Many other reforms have been insti-
tuted by rule of court and by statute.
As you know, the improvement of the
administration of justice is an ever-
continuing project, and for that rea-
son, the office of Chief Justice of the
trial court is one which requires full
time. Nonetheless, during the past
two and one-half years, I have as-
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signed myself to the First Criminal
session at Boston, sitting a substantial
part of each day. At this session
assignments are made to other crim-
inal trial sessions and pleas of guilt
are heard and disposed of. Because
of lack of time, I have not undertaken
to sit at jury trials, but I have heard
numerous jury-waived criminal cases.
As in many other jurisdictions, we
have an insufficiency of Superior
Court Judges. Hopefully, this situation
may be corrected to some extent in the
near future. . . .
"I believe one of the most impor-
tant functions of the Chief Justice is
to provide leadership for the Court,
and I think this is best achieved by
providing continuity in office as op-
posed to periodic changes by selection
of Associate Justices. . . ."
197
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