Statement on the Nomination of Geraldine S. Hines to the Supreme Judicial Court

Today, Governor Deval L. Patrick announced his nomination of Appeals Court Justice Geraldine S. Hines to be the next Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  Justice Hines would fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of current Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland.

“The people of Massachusetts have all benefitted from Judge Hines’s commitment to justice and her vast experience serving on the Superior Court and Court of Appeals,” said Boston Bar Association President Paul T. Dacier.  “We applaud Governor Patrick for moving to fill the soon to be vacated Supreme Judicial Court seat in such a timely manner.”

If approved, Hines would become the first black female justice in the 322 year history of the highest court in the state of Massachusetts.  Her renowned legal career has spanned public criminal defense, private practice in the first Boston-area firm with exclusively black female partners, and academia before she was nominated to serve on the Superior Court in 2001.  She was later appointed to the Appeals Court in 2013.  Hines has long been active in many civic and community organizations related to the law and civil rights.