In the next few days, Democrats in Middlesex County will convene at a special nominating caucus to elect a democratic candidate for the office of Register of Probate. I intend to be candidate at that caucus.
As a lifelong resident and attorney practicing in Middlesex County for 17 years, I possess not only the qualifications necessary to effectively manage the Middlesex Probate Court but also a strong commitment to Middlesex County and a strong desire to restore integrity and professionalism to the office of the Middlesex County Register of Probate.
I am a 1988 graduate of the University of Massachusetts/Isenburg School of Management and a 1991 graduate of the Catholic University of America/Columbus School of Law. For the past 11 years, I have served as an Assistant Solicitor for the City of Lowell representing the City of Lowell in all courts in the commonwealth and providing legal counsel on all matters pertaining to a public entity including labor and employment issues, public bidding and purchasing issues and matters involving state ethics laws.
As Register of Probate, I pledge to utilize this unique combination of education and experience to ensure that all citizens of Middlesex County are well served by a Probate Court that is accessible and responsive to those who utilize its services. As Register of Probate, among my highest priorities would be efforts to address the following:
1. Costly inefficiencies in court operations which delay and undermine the administration of justice.
2. Advocate for and lobby our legislature for the funding necessary to make critical infrastructure and facilities improvements.
3. Improve technological access to the Probate Court within the confines of personal privacy concerns and public records laws.
4. Institute major changes in the area of employee relations in order to address declining employee morale and realize the maximum potential of the talented staff in the Middlesex Probate Court.
Please support my candidacy by attending your local caucus on Monday Sept 22 or Tuesday Sept. 23 and voting for me at the nominating caucus on Wednesday September 24.
Please feel free to email me at mariasheehy@yahoo.com or to call me at any time at (978) 866-3445. Thank you for your consideration.
I truly appreciate you taking the time to explain who you are and why you are running for this position.
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p>It is a very very important role in the court system and I am reading and listening carefully to all of those who are running who take the time to provide background on themselves.
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p>I believe many other delegates to the County Caucus are doing the same.
I also have a website at http://www.mariasheehy.com. Check for updates as the site is under construction.
What will you do to increase efficiency on the Probate side? Right now, one can’t get a citation in less than three weeks, unless you camp out at the counter for an indefinite period and make a serious fuss. Similarly, no one ever believes that temporary guardianship ought to get some priority in scheduling — the health and safety of the proposed ward may be at stake, but good luck promptly getting the case in front of the judge.
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p>Please provide specifics. Thanks.
I do believe that temporary guardianships should be given certain priority over other cases because of the health and safety issues at stake. I say this not only as a practitioner of the law but also as a person who has seen firsthand, in the lives of family and friends, the urgency of such situations. I think that improving technological access is atleast the first step to improving efficiency on the probate side. However, declining employee morale must gets some serious attention as this issue undermines other improvements.
DCF, formerly known as DSS, currently will tell grandparents or other relelatives to go in and get temporary guardianships, by a particular date or DCF will remove the children to foster care.
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p>I agree that such cases should have a very high priority.
Just point of information. Typically DCF will call the Court and let us know that a case may be coming in and then work with the Probation Department to get all the information they can prior to the arrival of the parties so that all CORI information is ready for the judge. The Registry treats them as emergencies and handles them on an ex parte basis. We open the cases on BasCOT to have the judge assignment, have the parties fill out form and locate an available courtroom.
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p>Any citation or other service requirements are dealt with after the initial hearing. This is becoming a more increasingly common event.
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p>One thing to remember is that every person that seeks the Court’s intervention feels that their case is an emergency and a priority, so in working in conjunction with the judiciary it was determined that unless there were clear allegations of abuse or neglect in the petitioner’s affidavit, the case would be referred to the judiciary for determination of emergency hearing or short hearing date. I have also been allowed the authority, due to my working on the Registry floor, to make that determination by the First Justice.
The following persons have endorsed my candidacy:
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p>U.S Rep. Niki Tsongas, 5th Congressional District
State Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, Chair of Senate Ways & Means Committee
State Rep. Cory Atkins
State Rep. Jamie Eldridge
State Rep. Tom Golden
State Rep. Kevin Murphy
State Rep. David Nangle
State Rep. Jim Miceli