The state’s top judge on Tuesday positioned the Massachusetts court system as a stable force for good amid economic and political headwinds challenging the state and federal governments.

“In times like these, when there seems to be increasing discord and strife in our society, the courts can help to maintain stability and order by resolving disagreements fairly and rationally, according to the rule of law,” said Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd in the annual State of the Judiciary address.

Funding is down . So is public confidence, especially as the federal system has become the main venue for heated and far-reaching disputes over President Trump’s policies. Some worry of violence. And, separately, artificial intelligence looms, bringing possibility and peril ali

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