Pioneering Women in the Massachusetts Judiciary

The Flaschner Judicial Institute celebrates a group of trailblazing women who have served the Commonwealth as Judges.

The first women to serve as judges in Massachusetts were Emma Fall Schofield (Malden District Court) and Sadie Lipner Shulman (Dorchester District Court) who were appointed in 1930 by Governor Frank G. Allen. In 1959, Jennie Loitman Barron became the first woman appointed to the Superior Court. Judge Barron had previously served as a judge on the Municipal Court in Boston. Margaret Burnham was the first African-American woman appointed as a judge in Massachusetts when she joined the bench of the Boston Municipal Court in 1977. The following year, 1978, two other pioneering women were appointed to appellate courts in Massachusetts: Charlotte Anne Perretta was the first women appointed to the Appeals Court and Ruth Abrams, who previously served as a judge of the Superior Court, was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court. Another milestone occurred in 1999, when Margaret H. Marshall became the 24th chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. More recently, in 2013, Geraldine Hines, who served as a judge of the Superior Court and as a justice of the Appeals Court, became the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court. And, of course, in 2020, Justice Kimberly Budd became the first African-American Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.

There are many other pioneering women who have served or are serving as judges in Massachusetts. Our effort to compile a complete list of women “firsts” is below. Every one of these women judges has made multiple contributions to the legal system and to the well-being of the Commonwealth worthy of recognition in addition to their service as jurists. If, through inadvertence, we have omitted to include anyone, we hope you will contact us.

 

Hon. Emma Fall Schofield  and Hon. Sadie Lipner Shulman: First women judges in Massachusetts (1930)

Hon. Ethel E. Mackiernan:  First woman appointed to a full judgeship and become a presiding judge in Massachusetts (c. 1930s)

Hon. Beatrice Hancock Mullaney: First woman to serve as Justice of the Probate and Family Court (1955-1975)

Hon. Jennie Loitman Barron: First woman Associate Judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court (c. 1959)

Hon. Margaret Burnham: First African American woman judge in Massachusetts (BMC, 1977)

Hon. Charlotte Anne Perretta: First woman to serve as a Judge of the Massachusetts Appeals Court (1978)

Hon. Ruth Abrams: First woman to serve as a Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1978)

Hon.  Marilyn Sullivan: First woman to become Chief Justice of a Trial Court Department (Land Court 1985-1990)

Hon. Rebekah Crampton-Kamukala: First woman to serve as Justice of the Juvenile Court (1986-2008)

Hon. María López : First Latina judge in Massachusetts (1988)

Hon. Judith Nelson Dilday: First person of color appointed as a Judge of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court (1993)

Hon. Barbara Dortch-Okara: First woman and the first African-American to be appointed as Chief Justice for Administration and Management for the Massachusetts Trial Court (1998)

Hon. Diana Horan: First woman to serve as Justice of the Housing Court (1999-present)

Hon. Margaret H. Marshall: First woman to serve as the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1999)

Hon. Sabita Singh: First Indian American woman judge in Massachusetts (2006)

Hon. Barbara Lenk:  First openly LGBT woman appointed as a Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2011)

Hon. Fernande “Nan” Duffly: First Asian-American to serve as a Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2011)

Hon. Paula Carey:  First Chief Justice of the Trial Court (2013 – present)

Hon. Eleanor Coe Sinnott: First Korean American woman judge in Massachusetts (2014)

Hon. Geraldine Hines: First African American woman to serve as a Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court (2013)

Hon. Diana Maldonado: First Latina to serve as a Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court (2013)

Hon. Kimberly Budd: First African American woman to serve as the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2020)

Hon. Dalila Wendlandt: First Latina to serve as a Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2020)

 

Women’s History Month
Educational Resources

Breaking Barriers: The Unfinished Story of Women Lawyers and Judges in Massachusetts by Barbara F. Berenson, Esq.  (Editor), Hon. Margot Botsford (Editor), Hon. Patti B. Saris et al. (Editor)

McCammon, Holly J., et al. “Becoming Full Citizens: The U.S. Women’s Jury Rights Campaigns, the Pace of Reform, and Strategic Adaptation.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 113, no. 4, Jan. 2008, pp. 1104–1147.

Women Trailblazers in the Law Project

Resources for Women’s History Month from Facing History and Ourselves 

 

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