Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Massachusetts since May 17,2004,as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Constitution to allow only opposite-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts was the sixth jurisdiction in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the first U.S. state to open marriage to same-sex couples.
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.
Paul Julian Liacos was the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1989 to 1996.
G. Joseph Tauro was the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1970 to 1976.
Martha B. Sosman was an American lawyer and jurist from Massachusetts. She was appointed by Governor Paul Cellucci and served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 2000 until her death.
Hurley v. Irish-American Gay,Lesbian,and Bisexual Group of Boston,515 U.S. 557 (1995),was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court regarding free speech rights,specifically the rights of groups to determine what message their activities convey to the public. The Court ruled that private organizations,even if they were planning on and had permits for a public demonstration,were permitted to exclude groups if those groups presented a message contrary to the one the organizing group wanted to convey. Addressing the specific issues of the case,the Court found that private citizens organizing a public demonstration may not be compelled by the state to include groups who impart a message the organizers do not want to be presented by their demonstration,even if the intent of the state was to prevent discrimination.
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.
Francis Patrick O'Connor was an American lawyer and jurist from Massachusetts. He was long-time associate justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court who was noted for his frequent and thorough dissents.
Herbert Putnam Wilkins is an American jurist who served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1996 to 1999,a position his father,Raymond Sanger Wilkins,held from 1956 to 1970.
Fernande R. V. Duffly is an American lawyer and jurist from Massachusetts. She was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick in December 2010 to serve as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Patrick nominated her following the elevation of Roderick L. Ireland as Chief Justice on the court. Her nomination was confirmed 4-3 by the Governor's Council on January 26,2011. She was sworn in on February 1,2011. She is the first Asian American to serve on the court. She retired on July 12,2016.
Barbara A. Lenk 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 and she was confirmed by the Governor's Council on May 4,2011. She took the oath of office on June 8,2011.
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.
William Maurice Cowan is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from February 1,2013,to July 15,2013. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously served as legal counsel and chief of staff to Governor Deval Patrick. Patrick appointed him on an interim basis to fill the vacancy left by fellow Democrat John Kerry,who resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.
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.
Neil Lawrence Lynch was a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1981 to 2000. He was appointed by Governor Edward J. King.
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 who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts from 2016 to 2024. In February 2024 Lowy was named general counsel for the University of Massachusetts.
Kimberly S. Budd is the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and former justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
