Today marks International Women’s Day, and the Flaschner Judicial Institute celebrates the many 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 (Boston Municipal Court, 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. Joyce London Alexander: First African American woman appointed a Chief Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court (1979)
Hon. Rya Zobel: First woman federal judge for the District of Massachusetts (1979)
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. June Miles: First African American woman to serve as a Judge of the Juvenile Court (1990)
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. Martha Grace: First woman Chief Justice of the Juvenile Court (1998)
Hon. Diana Horan: First woman to serve as Justice of the Housing Court (1999-present)
Hon. Margaret 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. Eleanor Coe Sinnott: First Korean American judge in Massachusetts (2006)
Hon. Denise Casper: First African American woman to sit on the United States District Court of Massachusetts (2010)
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 – 2022)
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. Joanna Rodriguez: First Latina to serve as a Judge of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court (2020)
Hon. Dalila Wendlandt: First Latina to serve as a Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2020)
Hon. Stacey Fortes: First African American woman to serve as Chief Justice of the District Court (2022)
Hon. Diana Horan: First woman to be appointed Chief Justice of the Housing Court (2023)
Hon. Margaret Guzman: First Hispanic judge to sit on the U.S. District Court bench in Massachusetts (2023)
We also wanted to pass along information about an upcoming NJC program:
The National Judicial College’s Third Annual Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture
March 15, 2023 at 3 PM
Online
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served on the U.S. Supreme Court for more than 27 years, until her passing in September 2020. Perhaps best known for her pathmarking decision in United States v. Virginia (1996), in her later years on the Court, she became known for penning notable dissents, including in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007), Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), and Shelby County v. Holder (2013). Some observers have commented that her dissents in that period, often punctuated by being read aloud from the bench, gave important voice to her legacy. The panel convened for this year’s Lecture will discuss Justice Ginsburg’s “Voice Through Dissent,” including how that voice influenced the Court then and how it continues to influence the Court today.
For more information and to register, please visit: https://www.judges.org/courses/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-lecture-3rd-annual/