The Massachusetts governor’s council is preparing tough questions for Justice Ralph Gants, the governor’s pick to head the Supreme Judicial Court. There’s a hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning.

The chief justice has a huge effect on the state, says Councillor Robert Jubinville, a Milton Democrat.

“They can make rulings to change laws, they can make rulings to create laws, they can make rulings that find the law unconstitutional so they have an impact on the new law,” Jubinville says.

So Jubinville wants to know Gants’ philosophical positions on issues like the death penalty and gay marriage.

Republican Councillor Jenny Caissie of Oxford says she’ll ask Gants about his management style.

“A very important component of the chief justice job is how effective they will be negotiating and working with the legislature to secure funding for the entire trial court system,” Caissie says.

Gants was previously confirmed to become an associate justice, but only two of the eight councilors from that vote are still on the Governor’s Council.