New England Public Radio

A New Supreme Judicial Court To Hear Arguments For First Time

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reconvenes for oral arguments Tuesday, after its summer break and a pair of personnel changes.

When the justices gather to hear their first case — an appeal from a Pittsfield man convicted of an assault with a box cutter — it’ll be the first time since 1997 that Roderick Ireland is not serving on the court.

Ireland – a Springfield native – stepped down as chief justice last month as he approaches his 70th birthday, the mandatory retirement age for state judges in Massachusetts. He was replaced in the top job by associate justice Ralph Gants, sworn in a few weeks ago by Gov. Deval Patrick

Gants is the court’s first Jewish chief justice. Ireland was its first African American.

The vacancy created by all of this was filled by Boston lawyer Geraldine Hines, the first African American woman to serve on the court.

Ireland Retires, Gants To Be Sworn-In As Massachusetts’ Top Judge

Massachusetts gets a new top judge Monday. Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants is scheduled to be sworn-in as chief justice at 1 p.m.

Gants has served on the Supreme Judicial Court since 2009. In accepting the governor’s nomination for chief justice in April, Gants said the court should be a problem solver.

“We need to make sure that we provide sentences which not only provide appropriate punishment, but also permit the greatest possibility that that individual will not be coming back into the criminal justice system after he is released from custody,” Gants said.

Gants succeeds Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, who is approaching 70 years old, the mandatory retirement age for Massachusetts judges.

When Ireland presided over his final oral arguments in May, there were no big speeches, but Assistant District Attorney Julia Holler marked the occasion.

“If I just may add, chief justice, it’s been an honor and a pleasure,” Holler said. “Enjoy your retirement.”

“Oh, aren’t you nice,” replied Ireland. “Thank you very much.”

Ireland was the first African American to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court. And this Thursday, the court welcomes Geraldine Hines, its first African American woman.

 

Geraldine Hines Set To Become First African American Woman On Mass. High Court

Geraldine Hines will likely become the first African American woman to serve on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The state’s Governor’s Council is expected to confirm Hines at a hearing Wednesday.

It was only 18 months ago that the Governor’s Council voted unanimously to confirm Hines to a seat on the Appeals Court. At a hearing last week, all eight councilors said they would again support her.

Hines is not a Massachusetts native. She grew up in Scott, Mississippi – which she recalled during the hearing

“I am here now because of a mother who prayed without ceasing, and who saw beyond the evil of Jim Crow, which surrounded us in our small town on the Mississippi River,” Hines said.

Hines is 66 years old, so she would serve on the Supreme Judicial Court less than four years before she reaches the mandatory retirement age. She fills an associate justice seat most recently held by Ralph Gants, who will become the new chief justice.

The State House News Service contributed to this report.

Correction: Due to a typo, an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Hines would become the first African American to serve on the SJC.  It should have said that Hines will become the first African American woman on the court.

Albano To Question Supreme Judicial Court Pick On Work With FBI, U.S. Attorney

The Massachusetts Governor’s Council Wednesday resumes its confirmation hearing of Governor Deval Patrick’s pick to lead the Supreme Judicial Court.

At a meeting last week, the nominee said nothing. The hours of testimony were devoted to speakers praising Associate Justice Ralph Gants, and members of the governor’s council questioning those speakers.

On Wednesday, says Councilor Mike Albano, Gants will get to make a statement and then field questions. Albano says he wants to know about Gants’ work at the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office, and what he knew about the feds’ involvement with convicted Boston mobster Whitey Bulger.

“There’s some concerns that certainly have to be reviewed as to what his position was, what did he know and when did he know it,” Albano says. “I just don’t think you can let that period pass without asking those fundamentally important questions.”

Albano, as mayor of Springfield from 1996 to 2004, led a city hall that was the subject of an FBI corruption probe.

He says he’s not decided yet whether he’ll vote to confirm Gants as chief justice.

On First Day Of Chief Justice Confirmation Hearing, Mass. Governor’s Council Kept Nominee Mum

The Massachusetts Governor’s Council met Wednesday ostensibly to vet Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants, the govenor’s pick for chief justice.

But there wasn’t much vetting going on. The council met for five hours and didn’t ask Gants a single question or even allow him to speak.

For the first several hours, judges, defense attorneys and lawmakers praised the nominee. And members of the Governor’s Council – who usually don’t have an audience – took advantage of these officials’ presence to ask questions completely unrelated to the nomination.

“I go into superior courthouses all over the commonwealth and some of them are in tough tough condition,” Counselor Robert Jubinville told retiring Chief justice Roderick Ireland. “Need a lot of work. They’re beautiful buildings. Just gorgeous palaces of justice.”

And Counselor Eileen Duff veered off on a tangent with the executive director of Greater Boston Legal Services.

“This is fascinating to me,” Duff said. “How do you get your funding?”

Some of the time was filled with bickering. Counselors fought over whether to cut off one witness who printed more than a thousand pages of old court decisions. Gants sat silently watching the spectacle.

The hearing will continue next Wednesday.

Nominee To Lead Top Mass. Court To Face Questions Wednesday From Governor’s Council

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.