Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court |
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the
United States commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is one of the most
respected state supreme courts in the nation and has
traditionally issued progressive and controversial rulings.
History
The court was established in 1692 as the "Superior Court of Judicature". It is the oldest appellate court in continuous existence in the Western Hemisphere. Its name was changed to the Supreme Judicial Court after the adoption of the
Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. The SJC operates under the oldest, still functioning written constitution in the world.
Composition
The Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts with the consent of the
Executive Council. The Justices hold office until the mandatory
retirement age of seventy, like all other Massachusetts judges.
The currently serving justices are:
- Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall
- Justice John M.
Greaney
- Justice Roderick L.
Ireland
- Justice Francis X.
Spina
- Justice Judith A.
Cowin
- Justice Martha B.
Sosman
- Justice Robert J.
Cordy
Functions
The seven Justices hear appeals on a broad range of criminal and civil cases between the months of September and May.
Single Justice sessions are held each week throughout the year for certain motions pertaining to cases on trial or on appeal,
bail reviews, bar discipline proceedings, petitions for admission to the bar, and a variety of other statutory proceedings. The
Associate Justices sit as Single Justices each month on a rotation schedule.
The full bench renders approximately 200 written decisions each year; the single justices decide a total of approximately 600
cases annually.
In addition to its appellate functions, the SJC is responsible for the general superintendence of the judiciary and of the
bar, the creation or approval of rules for the operations of all the state courts, and in certain instances, providing advisory
opinions, upon request, to the Governor and state legislature on various legal issues.
The SJC also has oversight responsibility in varying degrees, according to statutes, with several affiliated agencies of the
judicial branch, including the Board of Bar Overseers, the Board of Bar Examiners, the Clients' Security
Board, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors’ Committee,
and Correctional Legal Services, Inc.
The SJC is currently located on the 3rd Floor of One Beacon Street, Boston,
Massachusetts 02108.
Landmark Cases
- Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966) - The Court ruled that a lower court had erred in finding
that the Attorney General of Massachusetts could initiate legal
proceedings against John Cleland's book Fanny Hill, as the book could not be considered obscene
since it had some redeeming value. Famously, Associate Justice Potter
Stewart's concurring opinion explained hard core pornography by stating
"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material ... but I know it when I see it."
- Roberts v.
Boston (1850) - The Court established the "separate but
equal" doctrine that would later be used in Plessy v.
Ferguson by maintaining that the law gave school boards complete
authority in assigning students to schools and that they could do so along racial lines if they deemed it appropriate.
- Commonwealth v. Jennison (1783) - The Court declared slavery unconstitutional in the state of
Massachusetts by allowing slaves to sue their masters for freedom.
- Rex v.
Wemms, et al. (1770) - Six soldiers involved in the Boston
Massacre were found not guilty, and two more — the only two proven to have fired — were found guilty of
manslaughter.
- Rex v. Preston
(1770) - Captain Thomas Preston, the Officer of the Day during the Boston
Massacre, was acquitted when the jury was unable to determine whether he had ordered the troops to fire.
External Links
Resources
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