The
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (
SJC) is the highest
court in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the
Western Hemisphere.
History
The court was established in 1692 as the "Superior Court of Judicature". It was formed by order of the British Crown in response to the large number of prosecutions stemming from the
Salem Witch Trials. Its name was changed to the Supreme Judicial Court after the adoption of the
Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. In 1804 an official
case reporter was created to publish the court's decisions, and the first officially reported decision was
Gold v. Eddy (1804).
Functions
The seven Justices hear
appeals on a broad range of
criminal and
civil cases between 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
General Court 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 , the , 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 sits at the
John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square,
Boston, Massachusetts 02108, which also houses the
Massachusetts Appeals Court and the
Social Law Library.
Landmark cases
- 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.
- Commonwealth v. Jennison (1783) - The Court declared slavery unconstitutional in the state of Massachusetts by allowing slaves to sue their masters for freedom. Boston lawyer, and member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779, John Lowell, upon the adoption of Article I for inclusion in the Massachusetts Constitution, exclaimed: "...I will render my services as a lawyer gratis to any slave suing for his freedom if it is withheld from him..." With this case, he fulfilled his promise. Slavery in Massachusetts was denied legal standing.
- Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) - The Court established that trade unions were not necessarily criminal or conspiring organizations if they did not advocate violence or illegal activities in their attempts to gain recognition through striking. This legalized the existence of non-socialist or non-violent trade organizations, though trade unions would continue to be harassed legally through anti-trust suits and injunctions.
Composition
The Court consists of a
Chief Justice and six
Associate Justices appointed by the
Governor of Massachusetts with the consent of the
Governor's Council. The Justices hold office until the mandatory
retirement age of seventy, like all other Massachusetts judges.
Current composition
The currently serving justices are:
Notable members
List of Chief Justices
Pre-Revolution
Post-Revolution
