Adjartey v. Cent. Div. of the Hous. Court Departmentand, 120 N.E.3d 297 (2019)

Citation: Adjartey v. Cent. Div. of the Hous. Court Departmentand, 120 N.E.3d 297 (2019)
Parent Document: Adjartey v. Cent. Div. of the Hous. Court Departmentand, 120 N.E.3d 297 (2019)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2019-04-10
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/7178223/adjartey-v-cent-div-of-the-hous... ↗

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b. Process for waiving the cost of an audio recording. If the court, with or without a hearing, finds that the applicant is indigent, it may not deny a request for "normal fees and costs." G. L. c. 261, § 27C (4). The court also may not deny an indigent applicant's request for "extra fees and costs" if it finds that the "document, service or object is reasonably necessary to assure the applicant as effective a prosecution, defense or appeal as he [or she] would have if he [or she] were financially able to pay." Id. It is therefore necessary, in evaluating an applicant's rights to a fee waiver, to distinguish between "normal" and "extra" fees and costs. The relevant statute, G. L. c. 261, § 27A, provides guidance, **84419 but does not explicitly address the question raised by the facts alleged in this case: whether the cost of obtaining an audio recording of prior trial court proceedings -- $ 50.50 for a compact disc or ten dollars for an online download -- should be considered "normal" or extra."

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