- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
-
Coordinates: 42°21′33″N 71°03′39″W / 42.359297°N 71.060954°W
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court 
Seal of MassachusettsEstablished 1692 Jurisdiction Massachusetts 
, United States 
Location Boston, Massachusetts Composition method Executive appointment with quasi-legislative consent Authorized by Massachusetts Constitution Decisions are appealed to Supreme Court of the United States 
John Adams Courthouse, home to the SJC
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.
Contents
History
The court was established in 1692 as the "Superior Court of Judicature". It was formed by order of the British Crown in response to the large number of prosecutions stemming from the Salem Witch Trials. Its name was changed to the Supreme Judicial Court after the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. In 1804 an official case reporter was created to publish the court's decisions, and the first officially reported decision was Gold v. Eddy (1804).
Functions
The seven Justices hear appeals on a broad range of criminal and civil cases between September and May.
Single Justice sessions are held each week throughout the year for certain motions pertaining to cases on trial or on appeal, bail reviews, bar discipline proceedings, petitions for admission to the bar, and a variety of other statutory proceedings. The Associate Justices sit as Single Justices each month on a rotation schedule.
The full bench renders approximately 200 written decisions each year; the single justices decide a total of approximately 600 cases annually.
In addition to its appellate functions, the SJC is responsible for the general superintendence of the judiciary and of the bar, the creation or approval of rules for the operations of all the state courts, and, in certain instances, providing advisory opinions, upon request, to the Governor and General Court on various legal issues.
The SJC also has oversight responsibility in varying degrees, according to statutes, with several affiliated agencies of the judicial branch, including the Board of Bar Overseers, the Office of Bar Counsel, the Board of Bar Examiners, the Clients' Security Board, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors’ Committee, and Correctional Legal Services, Inc.
The SJC is sits at the John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02108, which also houses the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Social Law Library.
Landmark cases
- Rex v. Preston (1770) - Captain Thomas Preston, the Officer of the Day during the Boston Massacre, was acquitted when the jury was unable to determine whether he had ordered the troops to fire. The defense counsel in the case was a young attorney named John Adams, later the second President of the United States.
- Rex v. Wemms, et al. (1770) - Six soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre were found not guilty, and two more – the only two proven to have fired – were found guilty of manslaughter.
- Commonwealth v. Nathaniel Jennison (1783) - The Court declared slavery unconstitutional in the state of Massachusetts by allowing slaves to sue their masters for freedom. Boston lawyer, and member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779, John Lowell, upon the adoption of Article I for inclusion in the Massachusetts Constitution, exclaimed: "...I will render my services as a lawyer gratis to any slave suing for his freedom if it is withheld from him..."[1] With this case, he fulfilled his promise. Slavery in Massachusetts was denied legal standing.
- Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) - The Court established that trade unions were not necessarily criminal or conspiring organizations if they did not advocate violence or illegal activities in their attempts to gain recognition through striking. This legalized the existence of non-socialist or non-violent trade organizations, though trade unions would continue to be harassed legally through anti-trust suits and injunctions.
- Roberts v. Boston (1850) - The Court established the "separate but equal" doctrine that would later be used in Plessy v. Ferguson by maintaining that the law gave school boards complete authority in assigning students to schools and that they could do so along racial lines if they deemed it appropriate.
- Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003) - The Court ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples violated the Massachusetts Constitution.
Composition
The Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts with the consent of the Governor's Council. The Justices hold office until the mandatory retirement age of seventy, like all other Massachusetts judges.
Current composition
The currently serving justices are:
Justice Began active
serviceAppointed
byRoderick L. Ireland 1997 (Assoc.)
2010 (Chief)William Weld (1997)
Deval Patrick (2010)[2]Margot Botsford 2007 Deval Patrick Robert J. Cordy 2001 Paul Cellucci Fernande R.V. Duffly 2011[3] Deval Patrick Ralph Gants 2009 Deval Patrick Barbara Lenk 2011[4] Deval Patrick Francis X. Spina 1999 Paul Cellucci Notable members
- William Cushing, Horace Gray, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. served on the Supreme Court of the United States after leaving the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
- Charles Fried served as United States Solicitor General from 1985 to 1989 under Ronald Reagan
List of Chief Justices
Pre-Revolution
# Chief Justice Took office Left office 1 John Stoughton 1692 1701 2 Wait Winthrop 1701 1701 3 Isaac Addington 1702 1703 4 Wait Winthrop 1708 1717 5 Samuel Sewall 
1718 1728 6 Benjamin Lynde 1729 1745 7 Paul Dudley 1745 1751 8 Stephen Sewall 1752 1760 9 Thomas Hutchinson 1761 1769 10 Benjamin Lynde 1769 1771 11 Peter Oliver 1772 1775 Post-Revolution
# Chief Justice Took office Left office 1 John Adams 
1775 1776 2 William Cushing 
1777 1789 3 Nathaniel Peaslee Sargent 1790 1791 4 Francis Dana 
1791 1806 5 Theophilus Parsons 
1806 1813 6 Samuel Sewall 1814 1814 7 Isaac Parker August 24, 1814 July 25, 1830 8 Lemuel Shaw 
August 30, 1830 August 21, 1860 9 George Tyler Bigelow September 7, 1860 December 31, 1867 10 Reuben Atwater Chapman February 7, 1868 June 28, 1873 11 Horace Gray 
September 5, 1873 January 9, 1882 12 Marcus Morton 
January 16, 1882 August 27, 1890 13 Walbridge A. Field 
September 4, 1890 July 15, 1899 14 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 
August 2, 1899 December 8, 1902 15 Marcus Perrin Knowlton 
December 17, 1902 September 7, 1911 16 Arthur Prentice Rugg September 20, 1911 June 12, 1938 17 Fred Tarbell Field June 30, 1938 July 24, 1947 18 Stanley Elroy Qua August 6, 1947 September 6, 1956 19 Raymond Sanger Wilkins September 13, 1956 September 1, 1970 20 G. Joseph Tauro 1970 January 10, 1976 21 Edward F. Hennessey 1976 April 19, 1989 22 Paul J. Liacos June 20, 1989 September 30, 1996 23 Herbert P. Wilkins October 1, 1996 August 31, 1999 24 Margaret H. Marshall 
October 14, 1999 December 19, 2010[5] 25 Roderick L. Ireland December 20, 2010 Incumbent
(faces mandatory retirement on December 3, 2014)All members after 1800
Justice Began active
serviceEnded active
serviceAppointed
byRuth Abrams 1978 2000 Michael Dukakis William Allen 1881 1891 John Davis Long Charles Allen 1882 1898 John D. Long Seth Ames 1869 1881 William Claflin James Barker 1891 1905 William E. Russell George Bigelow 1850 1860 George N. Briggs Margot Botsford 2007 - Deval Patrick Henry Braley 1902 1929 Winthrop M. Crane Robert Braucher 1971 1981 Francis W. Sargent James Carroll 1915 1932 David I. Walsh Reuben Chapman 1860 1866 Nathaniel Prentice Banks Waldo Colburn 1882 1885 John Davis Long James Colt 1865 1881 John Albion Andrew Robert J. Cordy 2001 - Paul Cellucci Edward Counihan 1949 1960 Paul A. Dever Judith A. Cowin 1999 2011 Paul Cellucci Louis Cox 1937 1944 Charles F. Hurley John C. Crosby 1914 1937 David I. Walsh Caleb Cushing 1852 1853 George S. Boutwell R. Ammi Cutter 1956 1972 Christian Herter Francis Dana 1791 1806 John Hancock Thomas Dawes 1792 1802 John Hancock Charles Decourcy 1911 1924 Eugene Foss Charles Devens 1873
18811877 William B. Washburn
John D. LongDaniel Dewey 1814 1815 Caleb Strong Arthur Dolan 1937 1949 Charles F. Hurley Charles Donahue 1932 1944 Joseph B. Ely Fernande R.V. Duffly 2011 - Deval Patrick William Endicott 1873 1882 William B. Washburn Fred T. Field 1929 1947 Frank G. Allen, Associate/Charles F. Hurley, Chief Walbridge A. Field 1881 1890 John D. Long Richard Fletcher 1848 1853 George N. Briggs Charles Forbes 1848 1848 George N. Briggs Dwight Foster 1866 1869 Alexander H. Bullock Charles Fried 1995 1999 William Weld Ralph D. Gants 2009 - Deval Patrick William Gardner 1885 1887 George D. Robinson Horace Gray 1864 1881 John Albion Andrew John M. Greaney 1989 2008 Michael Dukakis John Hammond 1898 1914 Roger Wolcott Edward F. Hennessey 1971 1989 Francis W. Sargent, Associate/Michael Dukakis, Chief Ebenezer R. Hoar 1859 1869 Nathaniel Prentice Banks Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1882 1902 John Davis Long/Associate, Roger Wolcott/Chief Samuel Hubbard 1842 1848 John Davis Roderick L. Ireland 1997 - William Weld, Associate/Deval Patrick, Chief Charles Jackson 1813 1823 Caleb Strong Charles Jenney 1919 1923 Calvin Coolidge Benjamin Kaplan 1972 1981 Francis W. Sargent Paul G. Kirk, Sr. 1960 1971 Foster Furcolo Marcus Perrin Knowlton 1887 1902 Oliver Ames John Lathrop 1891 1906 William Russell Barbara Lenk 2011 - Deval Patrick Paul J. Liacos 1976 1996 Michael Dukakis, Associate and Chief Levi Lincoln, Sr. 1824 1825 William Eustis Otis Lord 1875 1882 William Gaston William Loring 1899 1919 Roger Wolcott Henry Lummus 1932 1955 Joseph B. Ely Neil L. Lynch 1981 2000 Edward J. King Margaret H. Marshall 1996 2010 William Weld, Associate/Paul Cellucci, Chief Pliny Merrick 1853 1864 John H. Clifford Theron Metcalf 1848 1865 George N. Briggs Marcus Morton 1825 1840 Levi Lincoln, Jr. Marcus Morton 1869 1890 William Claflin, Associate/John Davis Long, Chief James Morton 1890 1913 John Q. A. Brackett Joseph Nolan 1981 1995 Edward J. King Isaac Parker 1806 1830 Caleb Strong, Associate and Chief Theophilus Parsons 1806 1814 Caleb Strong Francis Patrick O'Connor 1981 1997 Edward J. King Edward Pierce 1914 1937 Caleb Strong Samuel Putnam 1814 1842 Caleb Strong Stanley Qua 1934 1956 Joseph B. Ely, Associate/Robert F. Bradford, Chief Francis Quirico 1969 1981 Francis W. Sargent Paul Reardon 1962 1977 John A. Volpe James Ronan 1938 1960 Charles F. Hurley Arthur Rugg 1906 1911 Curtis Guild, Jr. George Sanderson 1924 1932 Channing H. Cox Theodore Sedgwick 1802 1813 Caleb Strong Samuel Sewall 1800 1814 Caleb Strong Lemuel Shaw 1830 1860 Levi Lincoln, Jr. Henry Sheldon 1905 1915 William Lewis Douglas Martha B. Sosman 2000 2007 Paul Cellucci August Soule 1877 1881 Alexander H. Rice John Spalding 1944 1971 Leverett Saltonstall Jacob Spiegel 1960 1972 Foster Furcolo Francis X. Spina 1999 - Paul Cellucci Simeon Strong 1801 1805 Caleb Strong G. Joseph Tauro 1970 1976 Francis W. Sargent George Thatcher 1801 1824 Caleb Strong Benjamin Thomas 1853 1859 John H. Clifford William Wait 1923 1934 Channing H. Cox John Wells 1866 1875 Alexander H. Bullock Arthur Whittemore 1955 1969 Christian Herter Samuel Wilde 1815 1850 Caleb Strong Herbert P. Wilkins 1972 1999 Francis W. Sargent, Associate/William Weld, Chief Raymond Wilkins 1944 1970 Leverett Saltonstall, Associate/Christian Herter, Chief Harold P. Williams 1947 1962 Robert F. Bradford Citation
The proper legal citation for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is "Mass."
References
- ^ Lowell, Delmar R., The Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America from 1639 to 1899 (p 35); Rutland VT, The Tuttle Company, 1899; ISBN 9780788415678.
- ^ Boston Globe: Frank Phillips, "Patrick to name first African-American chief justice of SJC," November 4, 2010, accessed April 4, 2011
- ^ Boston Herald: "Newest Mass. SJC Justice ‘Nan’ Duffly takes seat," February 7, 2011, accessed April 4, 2011
- ^ Levenson, Michael (May 4, 2011). "Lenk approved for SJC; first openly gay justice on state's highest court". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/05/lenk_approved_f.html. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^ Boston Globe: "Margaret Marshall, author of Mass. gay marriage decision, to retire," July 21, 2010, accessed April 4, 2011
External links
- Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
- List of Chief Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court
- Supreme Judicial Court, Office of the Reporter of Decisions
Resources
- About the Supreme Court
- Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society
- Gay-Marriage Decision: Just the Beginning of the Debate
- Memoirs v. Massachusetts
- Simpson's Contemporary Quotations
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