Barbara Lenk | |
---|---|
Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Acting | |
In office September 14, 2020 –December 1, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Ralph Gants |
Succeeded by | Kimberly S. Budd |
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | |
In office June 8,2011 –December 1,2020 | |
Appointed by | Deval Patrick |
Preceded by | Judith Cowin |
Succeeded by | Dalila Argaez Wendlandt |
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court | |
In office June 20,1995 –June 8,2011 | |
Appointed by | Bill Weld |
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court | |
In office 1993 –June 20,1995 | |
Appointed by | Bill Weld |
Personal details | |
Born | New York City,New York,U.S. | December 2,1950
Spouse | Debra Krupp |
Education | Fordham University (BA) Yale University (MA,PhD) Harvard University (JD) |
Barbara A. Lenk (born December 2,1950) is an American attorney and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. On April 4,2011,Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick nominated her to that position [1] [2] and she was confirmed by the Governor's Council on May 4,2011. [3] She took the oath of office on June 8,2011.
Justice Lenk was born in Queens,New York. Her parents were a bookbinder and a housekeeper. Her first language was Polish. [1] She received a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Fordham University in 1972,a Doctor of Philosophy in political philosophy from Yale University in 1978,and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1979.
Upon graduation from law school,she joined the Boston law firm of Brown,Rudnick,Freed &Gesmer and was a partner there for six years. [4] Her practice focused on civil litigation,with a specialty in First Amendment issues. [1]
In 1993,Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld,a Republican,named her to the state's Superior Court. She served there until Weld appointed her to the Appeals Court,where she began her service on June 20,1995. [5] When nominated to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court,Justice Lenk was the longest serving member of the Appeals Court. [6]
In May 2014,the Supreme Judicial Court unanimously rejected a legal challenge to a Massachusetts law requiring the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. The court ruled that the inclusion of the words "under God" did not violate the rights of atheists because,in the court's view,reciting the pledge "is a fundamentally patriotic exercise,not a religious one." [7] [8] [9] [10]
In a separate concurring opinion,Lenk explained that she agreed with the outcome of the court's decision because the plaintiffs challenging the state law "did not successfully allege that their children receive negative treatment" as a result of their decision not to recite the words "under God," or that their children had been reduced to "second-class citizen[]" status because of their beliefs. [10] However,Lenk also wrote that "should future plaintiffs demonstrate that the distinction created by the pledge as currently written has engendered bullying or differential treatment,I would leave open the possibility that the equal rights amendment [of the Massachusetts state constitution] might provide a remedy.” [8] [10]
In 2017,Justice Lenk found that the federal Stored Communications Act did not prevent the personal representatives of a deceased person from accessing his emails. [11] In July 2017,Lenk reported to the court the case in which it unanimously held that the commonwealth's law enforcement could not hold a prisoner solely on the authority of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. [12]
Lenk announced her retirement from the court,initially effective August 17,2020,but she later delayed her retirement to December 1,2020,one day before she turned 70. [13] During Lenk's last week sitting for oral arguments,fellow Justice Frank Gaziano praised her for her "intellectual honesty" and for being "faithful to the law," saying that "Justice Lenk's contributions are impactful and will be long remembered." [14]
Justice Lenk has served on the board of directors of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association,as chair of the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal,and as a member of the Judicial Administration Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association. [5] She is a Trustee of Western New England University, [15] where she chairs the academic affairs committee, [4] and a member of the Boston Inn of Court. [16] Lenk serves on the board of directors for Kerem Shalom in Concord,Massachusetts. [4]
Lenk is a lesbian. She married her wife,attorney Debra Krupp,following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004. They have two adopted children. [17] [18] She is the first openly gay member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. [19]
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health,798 N.E.2d 941,is a landmark Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case in which the Court held that the Massachusetts Constitution requires the state to legally recognize same-sex marriage. The November 18,2003,decision was the first by a U.S. state's highest court to find that same-sex couples had the right to marry. Despite numerous attempts to delay the ruling,and to reverse it,the first marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples on May 17,2004,and the ruling has been in full effect since that date.
Margaret Hilary Marshall is an American jurist who served as the 24th chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,the first woman to hold the position. She was chief justice from 1999 to 2010. On July 21,2010,she announced her retirement. She was Senior Fellow of the Yale Corporation until she retired from the board in 2016,Senior Counsel at Choate Hall &Stewart,and a member of the Council of the American Law Institute. Marshall was elected in 2017 to the American Philosophical Society.
Virginia Lynn Linder is an American judge from Oregon who served as the 99th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from January 2007 until January 2016. She served on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 1997 until her election to the state's Supreme Court in the 2006,an electoral campaign in which she defeated former Labor Commissioner and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Roberts.
Ruth Ida Abrams was the first female justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,where she served from 1978 to 2000,and the first female appellate justice in Massachusetts.
Martha B. Sosman was an American lawyer and jurist from Massachusetts. Appointed by Governor Paul Cellucci,she served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 2000 until her death.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston,the same building which houses the Supreme Judicial Court and the Social Law Library.
John M. Greaney is a former Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. After his judicial retirement,he served as Director of the Macaronis Institute for Trial and Appellate Advocacy at Suffolk University Law School. He currently is in private practice as senior counsel at Bulkley Richardson in Springfield,Massachusetts.
Judith Cathy Arnold Cowin is a retired justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Ralph D. Gants was an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He was sworn in on July 28,2014. Gants had previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney.
The judiciary of Massachusetts is the branch of the government of Massachusetts that interprets and applies the law of Massachusetts,ensures equal justice under law,and provides a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judicial power in Massachusetts is reposed in the Supreme Judicial Court,which superintends the entire system of courts.
Geraldine S. Hines is an American retired judge who formerly served served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 2014 to 2017. She was nominated in July 2014 by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and confirmed by an 8–0 vote of the Governor's Council. She succeeded Ralph D. Gants,who was promoted to chief justice.
Scott Lewis Kafker is an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and the former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
David A. Lowy is an American attorney,academic and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
Kimberly S. Budd is the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and former justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
Elspeth B. Cypher is an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and the former justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
United States v. Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and Wesley MacGregor (2019) was the federal criminal prosecution of a Massachusetts state court judge (Joseph) and court officer (MacGregor) for helping a state court defendant evade federal immigration authorities by allowing him to leave a court hearing through a rear door of the courthouse. Both were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice,aiding and abetting obstruction of justice,and aiding and abetting obstruction of a federal proceeding;MacGregor was also charged with perjury during grand jury proceedings. Joseph faced 20 years in prison;MacGregor,30 years. Both could have been fined $250,000. On September 22,2022,the case concluded with an announcement by federal prosecutors that the obstruction charges against both Joseph and MacGregor would be dismissed and that prosecution of the perjury charge against MacGregor would be deferred. As part of the resolution,Joseph agreed to submit to disciplinary proceedings before the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Dalila Argaez Wendlandt is an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She is a former Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
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