The following is a list of justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court which are broken down by pre- and post-statehood appointments. Historically, only three individuals have declined appointment to the Court which all occurred during the Provincial Congress period: William Reed in 1775, Robert Treat Paine in 1776, and James Warren in 1777. In the modern era, mandatory retirement has been a requirement when a given justice reaches the age of 70. This has been in place since 1976 when Chief Justice G. Joseph Tauro stepped down.
Current justices
editTitle | Name | Began active service | Appointed by | Reaches age 70 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chief Justice | Kimberly S. Budd | 2020 | Charlie Baker | 2036 |
Associate Justice | Frank Gaziano | 2016 | 2034 | |
Associate Justice | Scott L. Kafker | 2017 | 2029 | |
Associate Justice | Dalila Argaez Wendlandt | 2020 | 2038 | |
Associate Justice | Serge Georges Jr. | 2020 | 2038 | |
Associate Justice | Bessie Dewar | 2024 | Maura Healey | 2050 |
Associate Justice | Gabrielle Wolohojian | 2024 | 2030 |
Superior Court of Judicature (1692–1780)
edit- Appointed by Provincial Congress[a]
Chief Justices
editJustice | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Stoughton (1631–1701) |
Inaugural[b] | 1692 – July 7, 1701 (Died) |
Sir William Phips | |
2 | Wait Winthrop (1642–1717) |
W. Stoughton | 1701 – 1701 (Resigned) |
Governor's Council | |
3 | Isaac Addington (1645–1719) |
W. Winthrop | 1702 – 1703 (Resigned) |
Joseph Dudley | |
4 | Wait Winthrop (1642–1717) |
I. Addington | 1708 – November 7, 1717 (Died) | ||
5 | Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) |
W. Winthrop | 1718 – 1728 (Resigned) |
Samuel Shute | |
6 | Benjamin Lynde Sr. (1666–1749) |
Sa. Sewall | 1729 – January 28, 1745 (Died) |
William Burnet | |
7 | Paul Dudley (1666–1751) |
B. Lynde Sr. | 1745 – January 25, 1751 (Died) |
William Shirley | |
8 | Stephen Sewall (1702–1760) |
P. Dudley | 1751 – September 10, 1760 (Died) | ||
9 | Thomas Hutchinson (1711–1780) |
St. Sewall | 1761 – 1769 (Became Acting Governor) |
Francis Bernard | |
10 | Benjamin Lynde Jr. (1700–1781) |
T. Hutchinson | 1769 – 1771 (Resigned) |
Thomas Hutchinson | |
11 | Peter Oliver (1713–1791) |
B. Lynde Jr. | 1772 – 1775 (Removed from office) | ||
12 | John Adams (1735–1826) |
Inaugural | 1775 – 1776 (Never presided, resigned) |
Provincial Congress | |
13 | William Cushing (1732–1810) |
J. Adams | 1777 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) |
Associate Justices
editJustice | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas Danforth (bapt. 1623–1699) |
Inaugural[b] | 1692 – November 5, 1699 (Died) |
Sir William Phips | |
2 | Wait Winthrop (1642–1717) |
Inaugural[b] | 1692 – 1701 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
3 | John Richards (bef. 1630–1694) |
Inaugural[b] | 1692 – April 2, 1694 (Died) | ||
4 | Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) |
Inaugural[b] | 1692 – 1718 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
5 | Elisha Cooke Sr. (1637–1715) |
J. Richards | 1695 – 1702 (Resigned) |
William Stoughton | |
6 | John Walley (d. 1712) |
T. Danforth | 1700 – 1712 (Died) | ||
7 | John Saffin (bapt. 1626–1710) |
W. Winthrop | 1701 – 1702 (Appointment not renewed) |
Governor's Council | |
8 | John Hathorne (1641–1717) |
E. Cooke | 1702 – 1712 (Resigned) |
Joseph Dudley | |
9 | John Leverett (1662–1724) |
J. Saffin | 1702 – 1708 (Resigned) | ||
10 | Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718) |
J. Leverett | 1708 – 1717 (Appointment not renewed) | ||
11 | Benjamin Lynde Sr. (1666–1749) |
Vacant[c] | 1712 – 1729 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
12 | Nathaniel Thomas (1643–1718) |
1712 – October 22, 1718 (Died) | |||
13 | Addington Davenport (1670–1736) |
J. Corwin | December 9, 1715 – April 3, 1736 (Died) |
William Tailer | |
14 | Edmund Quincy III (1681–1737) |
Vacant[d] | 1718 – February 23, 1737 (Died) |
Samuel Shute | |
15 | Paul Dudley (1666–1751) |
1718 – 1751 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |||
16 | John Cushing | B. Lynde Sr. | 1728 – 1733 (Resigned) |
William Burnet | |
17 | Jonathan Remington (1677–1745) |
J. Cushing | 1733 – September 20, 1745 (Died) |
Jonathan Belcher | |
18 | Richard Saltonstall | A. Davenport | 1736 – 1756 (Resigned) | ||
19 | Thomas Graves (1684–1747) |
E. Quincy | 1737 – 1738 (Resigned) | ||
20 | Stephen Sewall (1702–1760) |
T. Graves | 1739 – 1745 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
21 | Nathaniel Hubbard (1680–1748) |
P. Dudley | 1745 – 1746 |
William Shirley | |
22 | Benjamin Lynde Jr. (1700–1781) |
J. Remington | 1747 – 1769 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
23 | John Cushing Jr. | N. Hubbard | 1747 – 1771 (Resigned) | ||
24 | Chambers Russell (1713–1766) |
St. Sewall | 1752 – 1766 (Died) |
Spencer Phips | |
25 | Peter Oliver (1713–1791) |
R. Saltonstall | 1756 – 1772 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
William Shirley | |
26 | Edmund Trowbridge (1709–1793) |
C. Russell | 1767 – 1775 (Removed from office) |
Francis Bernard | |
27 | Foster Hutchinson (1724–1799) |
B. Lynde Jr. | 1771 – 1775 (Removed from office) |
Thomas Hutchinson | |
28 | Nathaniel Ropes (1726–1774) |
Vacant[e] | 1772 – 1774 (Died) | ||
29 | William Cushing (1732–1810) |
1772 – 1775 (Reorganization of Court) | |||
30 | William Brown (1737–1802) |
N. Ropes | 1774 – 1775 (Removed from office) | ||
31 | William Cushing (1732–1810) |
Inaugural | 1775 – 1776 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Provincial Congress | |
32 | Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791) |
Inaugural | 1775 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) | ||
33 | Jedediah Foster (1726–1779) |
Inaugural | 1776 – October 17, 1779 (Died) | ||
34 | James Sullivan (1744–1808) |
Inaugural | March 1776 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) | ||
35 | David Sewall (1735–1825) |
W. Cushing | 1777 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) |
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1780–present)
editList of justices
editImage | Justice | Position | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William Cushing (1732–1810) |
Chief Justice |
Inaugural | 1780 – 1789 (Appointed to Supreme Court of the United States) |
||
— | Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1780 – 1791 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |
David Sewall (1735–1825) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1780 – 1789 (Appointed to U.S. District Court) | ||
James Sullivan (1744–1808) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1780 – 1782 (Resigned) | ||
Francis Dana (1743–1811) |
Associate Justice |
J. Foster (1779) | 1785 – 1806 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
Increase Sumner (1746–1799) |
Associate Justice |
J. Sullivan | 1782 – 1787 (Resigned to become Governor) |
John Hancock | |
— | Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791) |
Chief Justice |
W. Cushing | 1790 – October 2, 1791 (Died) | |
Robert Treat Paine (1731–1814) |
Associate Justice |
D. Sewall | 1790 – 1804 (Resigned) | ||
— | Nathan Cushing (1742–1812) |
Associate Justice |
N. Sargent (as Associate Justice) |
1790 – 1800 (Resigned) | |
Francis Dana (1743–1811) |
Chief Justice |
N. Sargent (as Chief Justice) |
1791 – 1806 (Resigned) | ||
Thomas Dawes (1731–1809) |
Associate Justice |
F. Dana | 1792 – 1802 (Resigned) | ||
— | Theophilus Bradbury (1739–1803) |
Associate Justice |
I. Sumner | 1797 – July 1803 (Removed due to poor health) | |
Samuel Sewall (1757–1814) |
Associate Justice |
N. Cushing | 1800 – 1814 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Caleb Strong | |
Theodore Sedgwick (1746–1813) |
Associate Justice |
T. Dawes | 1802 – January 24, 1813 (Died) | ||
— | Simeon Strong (1736–1805) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1801 – 1805 (Died) | |
George Thatcher (1754–1824) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1801 – January 1824 (Resigned) | ||
Theophilus Parsons (1750–1813) |
Chief Justice |
F. Dana | 1806 – October 13, 1813 (Died) | ||
Isaac Parker (1768–1830) |
Associate Justice |
S. Strong | 1806 – 1814 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
— | Charles Jackson (1775–1855) |
Associate Justice |
T. Sedgwick | 1813 – 1823 (Resigned) | |
Samuel Sewall (1757–1814) |
Chief Justice |
T. Parsons | 1814 – June 8, 1814 (Died) | ||
Daniel Dewey (1766–1815) |
Associate Justice |
S. Sewall | 1814 – May 26, 1815 (Died) | ||
— | Samuel Putnam | Associate Justice |
I. Parker (as Associate Justice) |
1814 – 1842 (Resigned) | |
Isaac Parker (1768–1830) |
Chief Justice |
S. Sewall | 1814 – July 25, 1830 (Died) | ||
— | Samuel Wilde (1771–1855) |
Associate Justice |
D. Dewey | 1815 – 1850 (Resigned) | |
Levi Lincoln Jr. (1782–1868) |
Associate Justice |
G. Thatcher | 1824 – 1825 (Elected Governor) |
William Eustis | |
Marcus Morton (1784–1864) |
Associate Justice |
L. Lincoln Jr. | 1825 – 1840 (Elected Governor) |
Levi Lincoln Jr. | |
Lemuel Shaw (1781–1861) |
Chief Justice |
I. Parker | August 30, 1830 – August 21, 1860 (Resigned) | ||
— | Charles Augustus Dewey (1793–1866) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1837 – 1866 (Died) |
Edward Everett |
— | Samuel Hubbard (d. 1847) |
Associate Justice |
S. Putnam | 1842 – 1847 (Died) |
John Davis |
Theron Metcalf (1784–1875) |
Associate Justice |
M. Morton I (1840) | 1848 – 1865 (Resigned) |
George N. Briggs | |
— | Charles E. Forbes (1795–1881) |
Associate Justice |
T. Metcalf | 1848 – 1848 (Resigned) | |
Richard Fletcher (1788–1869) |
Associate Justice |
C. Forbes | 1848 – 1853 (Resigned) | ||
George Tyler Bigelow (1810–1878) |
Associate Justice |
S. Wilde | 1850 – 1860 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
Caleb Cushing (1800–1879) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1852 – 1853 (Appointed U.S. Attorney General) |
George S. Boutwell | |
Benjamin Thomas (1813–1878) |
Associate Justice |
R. Fletcher | 1853 – 1859 (Resigned) |
John H. Clifford | |
Pliny Merrick (1794–1867) |
Associate Justice |
C, Cushing | 1853 – 1864 (Resigned) | ||
Ebenezer R. Hoar (1816–1895) |
Associate Justice |
J. Nolan | 1859 – 1869 (Appointed U.S. Attorney General) |
Nathaniel Prentice Banks | |
George Tyler Bigelow (1810–1878) |
Chief Justice |
L. Shaw | 1860 – 1867 (Resigned) | ||
Reuben Atwater Chapman (1801–1873) |
Associate Justice |
1860 – 1868 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |||
Horace Gray (1828–1902) |
Associate Justice |
N. Clifford | 1864 – September 15, 1873 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
John Albion Andrew | |
— | James Denison Colt (1819–1881) |
Associate Justice |
T. Metcalf | 1865 – 1866 (Resigned) | |
Dwight Foster (1828–1884) |
Associate Justice |
C. A. Dewey | 1866 – 1869 (Resigned) |
Alexander H. Bullock | |
— | John Wells (d. 1875) |
Associate Justice |
J. D. Colt | 1866 – 1875 (Died) | |
Reuben Atwater Chapman (1801–1873) |
Chief Justice |
G. T. Bigelow | 1868 – June 28, 1873 (Died) | ||
— | James Denison Colt (1819–1881) |
Associate Justice |
R. A. Chapman | 1868 – 1881 (Died) | |
Marcus Morton II (1819–1891) |
Associate Justice |
E. Hoar | 1869 – 1882 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
William Claflin | |
— | Seth Ames (1805–1881) |
Associate Justice |
D. Foster | 1869 – 1881 (Resigned) | |
Horace Gray (1828–1902) |
Chief Justice |
R. A. Chapman | September 15, 1873 – January 9, 1882 (Appointed to Supreme Court of the United States) |
William B. Washburn | |
Charles Devens (1820–1891) |
Associate Justice |
H. Gray | 1873 – 1877 (Appointed U.S. Attorney General) | ||
William Endicott (1826–1900) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1873 – 1882 (Resigned) | ||
— | Otis Lord (1812–1884) |
Associate Justice |
J. Wells | 1875 – 1882 (Resigned) |
William Gaston |
Augustus Soule (1827–1887) |
Associate Justice |
C. Devens | March 27, 1877 – April 11, 1881 (Resigned) |
Alexander H. Rice | |
Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899) |
Associate Justice |
S. Ames | 1881 – September 4, 1890 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
John D. Long | |
— | William Allen (d. 1891) |
Associate Justice |
1881 – 1891 (Died) | ||
Charles Devens (1820–1891) |
Associate Justice |
A. Soule | 1881 – 1891 (Died) | ||
Marcus Morton II (1819–1891) |
Chief Justice |
H. Gray | 1882 – 1890 (Resigned) | ||
Waldo Colburn (1824–1885) |
Associate Justice |
W. C. Endicott | November 10, 1882 – September 26, 1885 (Died) | ||
Charles Allen (1827–1913) |
Associate Justice |
M. Morton II | 1882 – 1898 (Resigned) | ||
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935) |
Associate Justice |
O. Lord | 1882 – 1899 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
— | William Gardner (1827–1888) |
Associate Justice |
W. Colburn | 1885 – 1887 (Resigned) |
George D. Robinson |
Marcus Perrin Knowlton (1839–1918) |
Associate Justice |
W. Gardner | 1887 – 1902 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Oliver Ames | |
Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899) |
Chief Justice |
M. Morton | September 4, 1890 – July 15, 1899 (Died) |
John Q. A. Brackett | |
James Madison Morton Sr. (1837–1923) |
Associate Justice |
1890 – 1913 (Resigned) |
|||
James Barker (1839–1905) |
Associate Justice |
W. Allen | 1891 – October 2, 1905 (Died) |
William Russell | |
John Lathrop (1835–1910) |
Associate Justice |
1891 – 1906 (Resigned) |
|||
John Wilkes Hammond (1837–1922) |
Associate Justice |
C. Allen | 1898 – 1914 (Resigned) |
Roger Wolcott | |
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935) |
Chief Justice |
W. A. Field | August 2, 1899 – December 4, 1902 (Appointed to Supreme Court of the United States) | ||
William Loring (1851–1930) |
Associate Justice |
O. W. Holmes | September 7, 1899 – September 16, 1919 (Resigned) | ||
Henry Braley (1850–1929) |
Associate Justice |
M. P. Knowlton | 1902 – 1929 (Died) |
Winthrop M. Crane | |
Marcus Perrin Knowlton (1839–1918) |
Chief Justice |
O. W. Holmes | 1902 – September 7, 1911 (Resigned) | ||
Henry Sheldon | Associate Justice |
Barker | 1905 – 1915 (Resigned) |
William Lewis Douglas | |
Arthur Prentice Rugg (1862–1938) |
Associate Justice |
J. Lathrop | 1906 – 1911 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Curtis Guild Jr. | |
Arthur Prentice Rugg (1862–1938) |
Chief Justice |
M. P. Knowlton | 1911 – June 12, 1938 (Died) |
Eugene Foss | |
Charles DeCourcy (1857–1924) |
Associate Justice |
A.P. Rugg | 1911 – 1924 (Died) | ||
John C. Crosby (1859–1943) |
Associate Justice |
J. Morton | December 31, 1913 – October 1, 1937 (Resigned) |
David I. Walsh | |
— | Edward Pierce (1852–1938) |
Associate Justice |
J. Hammond | 1914 – 1937 (Resigned) | |
— | James Carroll (d. 1932) |
Associate Justice |
Sheldon | 1915 – 1932 (Died) | |
— | Charles Jenney (1860–1923) |
Associate Justice |
W. Loring | 1919 – November 29, 1923 (Died) |
Calvin Coolidge |
William C. Wait (1860–1935) |
Associate Justice |
C. Jenney | 1923 – 1934 (Resigned) |
Channing H. Cox | |
— | George A. Sanderson (1863–1932) |
Associate Justice |
W. Wait | 1924 – 1932 (Died) | |
— | Fred Tarbell Field (1876–1950) |
Associate Justice |
H. Braley | January 30, 1929 – June 30, 1938 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Frank G. Allen |
— | Charles Donahue (1877–1952) |
Associate Justice |
March 17, 1932 – April 26, 1944(Resigned) |
Joseph B. Ely | |
— | Henry T. Lummus | Associate Justice |
1932 – 1955 | ||
— | Stanley Elroy Qua (1880–1965) |
Associate Justice |
1934 – 1947 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
— | Arthur Dolan (1876–1949) |
Associate Justice |
J. C. Crosby | 1937 – August 20, 1949 (Resigned) |
Charles F. Hurley |
Louis Cox (1874–1961) |
Associate Justice |
Edward Pierce | 1937 – 1944 (Resigned) | ||
— | Fred Tarbell Field (1876–1950) |
Chief Justice |
A. P. Rugg | June 30, 1938 – July 24, 1947 (Resigned) | |
— | James Ronan (d. 1959) |
Associate Justice |
F. T. Field | 1938 – 1959 (Died) | |
— | Raymond Sanger Wilkins (1891–1971) |
Associate Justice |
L. Cox | 1944 – 1956 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Leverett Saltonstall |
— | John Spalding | Associate Justice |
C. Donahue | 1944 – 1971 | |
— | Stanley Elroy Qua (1880–1965) |
Chief Justice |
F. T. Field | 1947 – 1956 (Resigned) |
Robert F. Bradford |
Harold P. Williams (1882–1963) |
Associate Justice |
S. Qua | 1947 – 1962 (Resigned) | ||
Edward Counihan (1882–1961) |
Associate Justice |
A. Dolan | 1949 – 1960 (Resigned) |
Paul A. Dever | |
— | Arthur Whittemore (1896–1969) |
Associate Justice |
H. Lummus | October 1955 – October 1, 1969 (Died) |
Christian Herter |
— | Raymond Sanger Wilkins (1891–1971) |
Chief Justice |
S. E. Qua | 1956 – 1970(Resigned) | |
— | R. Ammi Cutter | Associate Justice |
1956 – 1972 | ||
Paul G. Kirk Sr. (1904–1981) |
Associate Justice |
E. Counihan | November 23, 1960 – December 15, 1970 (Resigned) |
Foster Furcolo | |
— | Jacob Spiegel (1902–1984) |
Associate Justice |
J. Ronan | 1960 – 1972 (Resigned) | |
— | G. Joseph Tauro (1906–1994) |
Associate Justice |
1961 – 1970 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
John Volpe | |
— | Paul Reardon (1909–1988) |
Associate Justice |
H. P. Williams | 1962 – 1977 (Resigned) | |
— | G. Joseph Tauro (1906–1994) |
Chief Justice |
R. S. Wilkins | 1970 – 1976 (Mandatory retirement) |
|
— | Francis Quirico | Associate Justice |
1969 – 1981 |
Francis W. Sargent | |
— | Robert Braucher (1916–1981) |
Associate Justice |
P. Kirk | January 18, 1971 – August 26, 1981 (Died) | |
— | Edward F. Hennessey (1919–2007) |
Associate Justice |
J. Spalding | 1971 – 1976 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |
— | Benjamin Kaplan (1911–2010) |
Associate Justice |
R. A. Cutter | 1972 – 1981 (Mandatory retirement) | |
— | Herbert P. Wilkins (1930–) |
Associate Justice |
J. Spiegel | 1972 – 1996 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |
— | Edward F. Hennessey (1919–2007) |
Chief Justice |
G. J. Tauro | 1976 – 1989 (Mandatory retirement) |
Michael Dukakis |
— | Paul J. Liacos (1929–1999) |
Associate Justice |
E. Hennessey | 1976 – June 20, 1986 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |
— | Ruth Abrams (1930–2019) |
Associate Justice |
P. Reardon | 1978 – 2000 (Mandatory retirement) | |
Joseph R. Nolan (1925–2013) |
Associate Justice |
F. Quirico | 1981 – 1995 (Mandatory retirement) |
Edward J. King | |
— | Neil L. Lynch (1930–2014) |
Associate Justice |
B. Kaplan | 1981 – 2000 (Mandatory retirement) | |
— | Francis Patrick O'Connor (1927–2007) |
Associate Justice |
R. Braucher | 1981 – 1997 (Mandatory retirement) | |
— | Paul J. Liacos (1929–1999) |
Chief Justice |
E. Hennessey | June 20, 1986 – September 30, 1996 (Resigned) |
Michael Dukakis |
— | John M. Greaney (1939–) |
Associate Justice |
P. Liacos | 1989 – 2008 (Resigned) | |
Charles Fried (1935–2024) |
Associate Justice |
J. Nolan | September 1995 – June 1999 (Resigned) |
William Weld | |
Margaret H. Marshall (1944–) |
Associate Justice |
1996 – October 14, 1999 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |||
— | Herbert P. Wilkins (1930–) |
Chief Justice |
P. Liacos | 1996 – October 13, 1999 (Resigned) | |
— | Roderick L. Ireland (1944–) |
Associate Justice |
1997 – December 20, 2010 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
Margaret H. Marshall (1944–) |
Chief Justice |
H. Wilkins | October 14, 1999 – October 31, 2010 (Resigned) |
Paul Cellucci | |
— | Judith Cowin (1942–) |
Associate Justice |
C. Fried | 1999 – 2011 (Resigned) | |
— | Francis X. Spina (1946–) |
Associate Justice |
M. Marshall | 1999 – August 12, 2016 (Mandatory retirement) | |
— | Martha B. Sosman (1950–2007) |
Associate Justice |
N. Lynch | 2000 – March 10, 2007 (Died) | |
— | Robert J. Cordy (1949–) |
Associate Justice |
R. Abrams | 2001 – August 12, 2016 (Resigned) | |
Margot Botsford (1947–) |
Associate Justice |
M. Sosman | September 4, 2007 – March 15, 2017 (Mandatory retirement) |
Deval Patrick | |
Ralph Gants (1954–2020) |
Associate Justice |
J. Greaney | January 29, 2009 – July 28, 2014 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
— | Roderick L. Ireland (1944–) |
Chief Justice |
M. Marshall | December 20, 2010 – July 25, 2014 (Mandatory retirement) | |
Barbara Lenk (1950–) |
Associate Justice |
J. Cowin | June 8, 2011 – December 1, 2020 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
— | Fernande R.V. Duffly (1949–) |
Associate Justice |
R. Ireland | February 1, 2011 – July 12, 2016 (Resigned) | |
Ralph Gants (1954–2020) |
Chief Justice |
R. Ireland | July 28, 2014 – September 14, 2020[1][2] (Died) | ||
— | Geraldine Hines (1947–) |
Associate Justice |
R. Gants | July 31, 2014 – August 18, 2017 (Mandatory retirement) | |
Frank Gaziano (1963–) |
Associate Justice |
F. Spina | August 18, 2016 – Incumbent |
Charlie Baker | |
Kimberly S. Budd (1966–) |
Associate Justice |
F. Duffly | August 24, 2016 – December 1, 2020 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
David A. Lowy (1959/60–) |
Associate Justice |
R. Cordy | August 24, 2016 – February 3, 2024 (Retired) | ||
Elspeth B. Cypher (1959–) |
Associate Justice |
M. Botsford | March 31, 2017 – January 12, 2024 (Retired) | ||
Scott Kafker (1959–) |
Associate Justice |
G. Hines | August 21, 2017 – Incumbent | ||
Kimberly S. Budd (1966–) |
Chief Justice |
R. Gants | December 1, 2020 – Incumbent | ||
Dalila Argaez Wendlandt (1968/69–) |
Associate Justice |
B. Lenk | December 4, 2020 – Incumbent | ||
Serge Georges Jr. (1969-70–) |
Associate Justice |
K. Budd | December 16, 2020 – Incumbent | ||
— | Bessie Dewar (1980–) |
Associate Justice |
E. Cypher | January 16, 2024 – Incumbent |
Maura Healey |
— | Gabrielle Wolohojian (1960–) |
Associate Justice |
D. Lowy | April 22, 2024 – Incumbent |
Notes
edit- ^ These justices were appointed by a provisional government. The Province of Massachusetts Bay was dissolved in 1780 when the Constitution of Massachusetts was adopted.
- ^ a b c d e All judges appointed before 1695 were reappointed in that year (except John Richards, who had died) because the legislation creating the court was vetoed in that year by the Privy Council. Several further attempts to legislate the court's existence were vetoed, and it was not until 1699 that the provincial assembly enacted laws creating courts that satisfied the Privy Council.
- ^ Lynde and Thomas were appointed to fill vacancies created by the death of John Whalley and the resignation of John Hathorne.
- ^ Quincy and Dudley were appointed to fill vacancies created by the deaths of Wait Winthrop and Nathaniel Thomas.
- ^ Ropes and Cushing were appointed to replace John Cushing and Benjamin Lynde Jr., both of whom resigned. Peter Oliver was named Chief Justice, replacing Lynde.
References
edit- ^ Becker, Deborah. "Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants Dies At 65". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
- ^ Marquard, Bryan. "SJC Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants has died - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
Further reading
edit- Whitmore, William Henry (1870). The Massachusetts Civil List for the Colonial and Provincial Periods, 1630-1774. J. Munsell.