Court Opinion

ID: 9529623
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:52:41.892542+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:51.688770
License: Public Domain

By the Court.
The plaintiff, Elwood S. McKenney, First Justice of the District Court Department, Roxbury Division, appeals from a single justice’s denial of his application for further declaratory relief.2 As was the case on a *264prior appeal, the plaintiff attacks the adequacy of a complaint against him filed with the Commission on Judicial Conduct (commission).3 The plaintiff claims that the present “amended complaint,” filed following our remand of this matter to the commission, fails to satisfy the standards of specificity and reliability we have said are required by G. L. c. 211C. See McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 801-802 (1979).
The allegations of the amended complaint are grounded entirely on the same television broadcast that formed the basis of the original complaint. The complaint again consists of a short, signed statement attached to a transcript of that broadcast, and the complainant (a commission member) again acknowledges that she has no personal knowledge of the truth or falsity of the matters alleged. The new complaint, however, in contrast to the original, does set forth ten separate allegations.4
*265The plaintiff filed with the commission a motion to dismiss this amended complaint. Some time thereafter he filed in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk a “Petition for Contempt or Other Further Relief,” under G. L. c. 231A, § 5.
After hearing, the single justice granted the commission’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s petition on the basis that there was “no occasion for departing from the rule excluding premature court review of administrative activity.” At the time of his decision, the single justice did not know that the commission had, two days previously, denied the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss the complaint and had begun an investigation. On the basis of these actions by the commission, the plaintiff filed with the single justice a motion for reconsideration, arguing that his petition for further declaratory relief was the only available method for testing the sufficiency of the amended complaint. After hearing, this motion was denied. We affirm.
Denial of interlocutory relief. In our prior decision, while concluding that we should reach the merits of the plaintiff’s request for declaratory relief, we had occasion to “stress . . . the extraordinary nature of this [previous] proceeding,” and to note that we would “look with disfavor on attempted interlocutory review of commission actions in the future.” McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 794 (1979). We can find no basis on the record before us for concluding that the single justice abused his discretion by adhering to this general rule. See generally Assuncao’s Case, 372 Mass. 6, 8-9 (1977); East Chop Tennis Club v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, 364 Mass. 444, 450-453 (1973).
We departed from our general policy in the prior case because the issue was one of first impression, presenting an *266issue “solely of statutory construction.” McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 792, 793-794 (1979).5 By contrast the major focus of the present appeal looks only to the adequacy of the particular complaint now before the commission rather than to the broader issue of whether all such complaints must be grounded on personal knowledge. The lack of such a broad impact undercuts the need for declaratory relief. See East Chop Tennis Club v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, 364 Mass. 444, 450 (1973).
The rationale against interlocutory review, furthermore, is “particularly cogent” when a proceeding is still in “its earliest stage[s],” Assuncao’s Case, 372 Mass. 6, 9 (1977), and the party seeking declaratory relief has access to additional administrative procedures which may correct or render moot any alleged error. The plaintiff’s challenge to the sufficiency of the complaint in this case strikes at the earliest possible stages of the commission’s procedures. “The immediate consequence of the filing of a complaint [accepted as valid by the commission] can be no more than the initiation of a confidential investigation by the commission.” McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 800 (1979). “ It must be remembered that the question whether to conduct an investigation is a preliminary one, and that a new specification of charges must be made before the commission may proceed to a hearing.” Id. at 802. Any error the commission may have made in evaluating the adequacy of the amended complaint would be rendered harmless should the commission’s investigation lead it to dismiss the complaint’s allegation as groundless.
In sum, the requirement that a party exhaust his administrative remedies prior to seeking judicial relief reflects “a sound principle of law and jurisprudence aimed at preserv*267ing the integrity of both administrative and judicial processes.” Assuncao’s Case, 372 Mass. 6, 8 (1977). This principie cuts with particular force in the case of accusations of judicial misconduct, where the interests of both the public and the judge require that the issue before the commission be resolved in the most expeditious manner possible, without the delay that a liberal availability of interlocutory review would inevitably entail.* ****6 Frequent intervention by this court at the earliest stages of the commission’s proceedings would undermine both the authority of the commission and public respect for its work. Therefore, we conclude that the commission should not be hampered by interlocutory appeals on preliminary matters, absent some extraordinary justification, not evidenced by the record before us.7
We add that the statutory prohibition against the commission’s conducting any “investigation” before the judge has had the opportunity to review the complaint and respond in writing8 does not preclude the commission’s communicating with those persons who make allegations of judicial misconduct in either the electronic or print media. Broad and unsubstantiated allegations, no matter how sensational, do not become a sufficient basis for a complaint before the commission merely by being published or broadcast. Where such reports rely on specific allegations made *268by named persons, the commission should normally directly inquire of these persons to determine whether they need or desire assistance in filing a complaint.9
Finally, the plaintiff asks not only that we declare the amended complaint invalid but that we also bar all “further proceedings in this matter.” It cannot be assumed, however, that termination of the commission’s investigation would necessarily put an end to all proceedings in this matter. “ If the commission cannot or does not proceed with the investigation of certain of [the allegations of misconduct], [this court] could undertake to do so in the exercise of our constitutional and statutory obligations of general superintendence of the courts of the Commonwealth.” McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 803 (1979). We have already indicated that “ [i]n our judgment, at least certain of the matters referred to in the [first] complaint clearly warrant serious consideration for investigation.” Id.
The plaintiff has not asked us to undertake the investigation of the charges against him under our general superintendence powers; were he to do so, we would give his request serious consideration. At a minimum, in view of the fact that the commission’s proceedings have not been stayed since the date of our prior rescript, we think the commission should inform us of the progress of its investigation. Within fourteen days of the date of this rescript, the commission should report to this court and to the plaintiff the expected date by which it will have completed its investigation and determined whether or not “sufficient cause exists . . . that a hearing is warranted.” G. L. c. 211C, § 2, ninth par. If the commission has found that such hearing is warranted, *269we and the plaintiff should be informed of the fact. In any event, we should be informed of the approximate date when we may expect the commission to “ forward its final recommendation,” if any,10 to this court for our “consideration and further action, if any.” G. L. c. 211C, § 2, ninth par. Since the plaintiff has chosen publicly to litigate this complaint, the forwarding of such a report as to the status of the commission’s investigation and the future timetable for commission action does not violate the statutory requirements of confidentiality. See G. L. c. 211C, § 2, ninth par. McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, supra.
The order of the single justice denying the plaintiff’s “Petition for Contempt or Other Further Relief” is affirmed.

So ordered.

 General Laws c. 231A, § 5, inserted by St. 1945, c. 582, § 1, provides in part: “Further relief based on a declaratory judgment or decree may be granted whenever necessary or proper. The application therefor shall be by petition to a court having jurisdiction to grant the relief. If the application be deemed sufficient the court shall, on reasonable notice, require any adverse party whose rights have been adjudicated by the declaratory judgment or decree to show cause why further relief should not be granted forthwith.”

 The commission, established pursuant to G. L. c. 211C, § 1, inserted by St. 1978, c. 478, § 114, consists of three judges, three attorneys, and three lay persons.

 The complaint alleges that the judge: “ (1) Used his judicial position to eliminate competition among bail bondsm[e]n in his court in order to financially benefit a bail bondsman named Lincoln Hinds; (2) Persistently refused to allow tape recordings in his courtroom as permitted as a matter of right by Rule 11 of the Initial Rules of Criminal Procedure for the District Courts of Massachusetts; (3) Repeatedly appointed two attorneys with whom he socialized in public, namely, Thomas J. Hannon and Harold Hakala, to represent indigent defendants in criminal matters, thereby showing or appearing to show favoritism toward these attorneys; (4) Failed to take remedial action against Assistant Chief Court Officer Joseph Drago, who did not report to work for approximately six of the twelve months preceding the screening of the so-called I-Team report; (5) Appointed Mary Ball as a temporary probation officer and promoted her to permanent status for reasons other than merit; (6) Appointed Marcia Scott as a temporary assistant chief probation officer for reasons other than merit; (7) Entered into an arrangement with Justice Henry P. Crowley of the Brookline Division of the District Court Department of the Trial Court to appoint the son of Justice Crowley as a court employee in exchange for the appointment by Justice Crowley of Victoria Bergland (a.k.a. Victoria Hart) as a court employee in the Brookline court; (8) Purchased a Volkswagen automobile from a defendant appearing before him, who could not reclaim that vehicle because of his inability to pay certain *265fines imposed by the court; (9) Used the power of his judicial office to secure ownership of a Cadillac Seville automobile at a price substantially below the fair market value for such an automobile; (10) Utilized court personnel, court facilities, and court telephones during normal working hours for personal business, including the preparation of food by court officers, and the sale of a boat.”

 In the prior case, furthermore, the commission joined with the judge in asking that we rule on the question whether a complaint must he grounded on personal knowledge. The commission now opposes our reviewing on an interlocutory basis the adequacy of the particular complaint before it.

 In part, expeditious resolution of charges against judges is required because of limitations (not generally applicable to other public figures) on a judge’s ability publicly to respond to allegations of misconduct.

 It appears that the Legislature had the need for expedition firmly in mind since the statute establishing the commission provides a detailed timetable which must be followed in resolving allegations of judicial misconduct. G. L. c. 211C, § 2, second and fifth pars. The fact that the Legislature did not limit the time within which an investigation must be conducted does not mean that the commission is free to conduct the investigation at a leisurely pace. The importance of the issue to the public and to the judiciary requires that the commission act promptly and complete its investigation without undue delay.

 The judge has thirty days from his notice of the complaint to respond in writing, and the commission may not investigate the matter until the judge has responded in writing or failed to do so within that time. G. L. c. 211C, § 2, fifth par.

 “We would regard as appropriate, and as not constituting an ‘investigation,’ any acts of assistance, by the commission or its secretary and staff, in the preparation of a complaint in a proper form. Rule 6 of the commission, approved by this court, authorizes the commission’s secretary to ‘furnish blank complaint forms to any person’ and, if necessary, to ‘assist the complainant in reducing the grievance to writing.’ ” McKenney v. Commission on Judicial Conduct, 377 Mass. 790, 795 n.4 (1979).

 By insisting that the commission furnish us with a timetable for a possible hearing and recommendation to this court, we do not intend to intimate any view that such a hearing or recommendation will in fact be required. In light of its past experience, the commission may wish to reexamine its operating rules to determine if the rules could be amended so as to expedite the processing of complaints.