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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**846In deciding whether an audio recording satisfies this test, a judge may look to factors including the cost of the recording and its potential value to the litigant. Id. at 161, 408 N.E.2d 834. See Commonwealth v. Salazar, 481 Mass. 105, 106 n.2, 112 N.E.3d 781 (2018). The cost of a recording is $ 50.50 for a compact disc or ten dollars for an online download -- potentially substantial for an indigent party but modest for a person who can afford to pay. Contrast Salazar, supra (no error in denial of motion for funds where estimated cost of translation was $ 12,348, defendant had access to translator throughout trial, and his counsel was provided with trial transcripts). And as illustrated by the facts alleged in this case, audio recordings can serve a number of *313valuable purposes for parties facing further court appearances or appeals: they allow litigants to learn what happened at a hearing the litigants missed or did not fully comprehend, to prepare for subsequent hearings, and to formulate appeals based on alleged errors at trial. This means, under the test described in Lockley, 381 Mass. at 160-161, 408 N.E.2d 834, that audio recordings will often be "reasonably necessary" for an applicant to adequately prepare for his or her trial or appeal. See G. L. c. 261, § 27C (4). We therefore expect that judges will allow motions seeking fee waivers for audio recordings where (1) the applicant qualifies as indigent and (2) the applicant has an upcoming hearing related to the prior recorded proceedings or is pursuing a nonfrivolous appeal to which the requested audio recordings are relevant.22 Cf. G. L. c. 239, § 5 (e ) (indigent party's motion to waive appeal bond shall be allowed if court "is satisfied that the person requesting the waiver has any defense which is not frivolous and is indigent"). We further expect that judges will do so without hearing unless the affidavit raises significant questions as to the applicant's indigency or the recordings' potential value to the applicant.

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