Colonel William A. Phillips

The following is a list of justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court which are broken down by pre- and post-statehood appointments. Historically, only three individuals have declined appointment to the Court which all occurred during the Provincial Congress period: William Reed in 1775, Robert Treat Paine in 1776, and James Warren in 1777. In the modern era, mandatory retirement has been a requirement when a given justice reaches the age of 70. This has been in place since 1976 when Chief Justice G. Joseph Tauro stepped down.

Current justices

Superior Court of Judicature (1692–1780)

•   Appointed by Provincial Congress^[a]

Chief Justices

Justice			Succeeded	Tenure	Appointed by
1		William Stoughton (1631–1701)	Inaugural[b]	1692 – July 7, 1701 (Died)	Sir William Phips
2		Wait Winthrop (1642–1717)	W. Stoughton	1701 – 1701 (Resigned)	Governor's Council
3		Isaac Addington (1645–1719)	W. Winthrop	1702 – 1703 (Resigned)	Joseph Dudley
4		Wait Winthrop (1642–1717)	I. Addington	1708 – November 7, 1717 (Died)
5		Samuel Sewall (1652–1730)	W. Winthrop	1718 – 1728 (Resigned)	Samuel Shute
6		Benjamin Lynde Sr. (1666–1749)	Sa. Sewall	1729 – January 28, 1745 (Died)	William Burnet
7		Paul Dudley (1666–1751)	B. Lynde Sr.	1745 – January 25, 1751 (Died)	William Shirley
8		Stephen Sewall (1702–1760)	P. Dudley	1751 – September 10, 1760 (Died)
9		Thomas Hutchinson (1711–1780)	St. Sewall	1761 – 1769 (Became Acting Governor)	Francis Bernard
10		Benjamin Lynde Jr. (1700–1781)	T. Hutchinson	1769 – 1771 (Resigned)	Thomas Hutchinson
11		Peter Oliver (1713–1791)	B. Lynde Jr.	1772 – 1775 (Removed from office)
12		John Adams (1735–1826)	Inaugural	1775 – 1776 (Never presided, resigned)	Provincial Congress
13		William Cushing (1732–1810)	J. Adams	1777 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780)

Associate Justices

Justice			Succeeded	Tenure	Appointed by
1		Thomas Danforth (bapt. 1623–1699)	Inaugural[b]	1692 – November 5, 1699 (Died)	Sir William Phips
2		Wait Winthrop (1642–1717)	Inaugural[b]	1692 – 1701 (Continued as Chief Justice)
3		John Richards (bef. 1630–1694)	Inaugural[b]	1692 – April 2, 1694 (Died)
4		Samuel Sewall (1652–1730)	Inaugural[b]	1692 – 1718 (Continued as Chief Justice)
5		Elisha Cooke Sr. (1637–1715)	J. Richards	1695 – 1702 (Resigned)	William Stoughton
6		John Walley (d. 1712)	T. Danforth	1700 – 1712 (Died)
7		John Saffin (bapt. 1626–1710)	W. Winthrop	1701 – 1702 (Appointment not renewed)	Governor's Council
8		John Hathorne (1641–1717)	E. Cooke	1702 – 1712 (Resigned)	Joseph Dudley
9		John Leverett (1662–1724)	J. Saffin	1702 – 1708 (Resigned)
10		Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718)	J. Leverett	1708 – 1717 (Appointment not renewed)
11		Benjamin Lynde Sr. (1666–1749)	Vacant[c]	1712 – 1729 (Continued as Chief Justice)
12		Nathaniel Thomas (1643–1718)		1712 – October 22, 1718 (Died)
13		Addington Davenport (1670–1736)	J. Corwin	December 9, 1715 – April 3, 1736 (Died)	William Tailer
14		Edmund Quincy III (1681–1737)	Vacant[d]	1718 – February 23, 1737 (Died)	Samuel Shute
15		Paul Dudley (1666–1751)		1718 – 1751 (Continued as Chief Justice)
16		John Cushing	B. Lynde Sr.	1728 – 1733 (Resigned)	William Burnet
17		Jonathan Remington (1677–1745)	J. Cushing	1733 – September 20, 1745 (Died)	Jonathan Belcher
18		Richard Saltonstall	A. Davenport	1736 – 1756 (Resigned)
19		Thomas Graves (1684–1747)	E. Quincy	1737 – 1738 (Resigned)
20		Stephen Sewall (1702–1760)	T. Graves	1739 – 1745 (Continued as Chief Justice)
21		Nathaniel Hubbard (1680–1748)	P. Dudley	1745 – 1746	William Shirley
22		Benjamin Lynde Jr. (1700–1781)	J. Remington	1747 – 1769 (Continued as Chief Justice)
23		John Cushing Jr.	N. Hubbard	1747 – 1771 (Resigned)
24		Chambers Russell (1713–1766)	St. Sewall	1752 – 1766 (Died)	Spencer Phips
25		Peter Oliver (1713–1791)	R. Saltonstall	1756 – 1772 (Continued as Chief Justice)	William Shirley
26		Edmund Trowbridge (1709–1793)	C. Russell	1767 – 1775 (Removed from office)	Francis Bernard
27		Foster Hutchinson (1724–1799)	B. Lynde Jr.	1771 – 1775 (Removed from office)	Thomas Hutchinson
28		Nathaniel Ropes (1726–1774)	Vacant[e]	1772 – 1774 (Died)
29		William Cushing (1732–1810)		1772 – 1775 (Reorganization of Court)
30		William Brown (1737–1802)	N. Ropes	1774 – 1775 (Removed from office)
31		William Cushing (1732–1810)	Inaugural	1775 – 1776 (Continued as Chief Justice)	Provincial Congress
32		Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791)	Inaugural	1775 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780)
33		Jedediah Foster (1726–1779)	Inaugural	1776 – October 17, 1779 (Died)
34		James Sullivan (1744–1808)	Inaugural	March 1776 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780)
35		David Sewall (1735–1825)	W. Cushing	1777 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780)

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1780–present)

List of justices

Image	Justice	Position	Succeeded	Tenure	Appointed by
	William Cushing (1732–1810)	Chief Justice	Inaugural	1780 – 1789 (Appointed to Supreme Court of the United States)
—	Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1780 – 1791 (Continued as Chief Justice)
	David Sewall (1735–1825)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1780 – 1789 (Appointed to U.S. District Court)
	James Sullivan (1744–1808)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1780 – 1782 (Resigned)
	Francis Dana (1743–1811)	Associate Justice	J. Foster (1779)	1785 – 1806 (Continued as Chief Justice)
	Increase Sumner (1746–1799)	Associate Justice	J. Sullivan	1782 – 1787 (Resigned to become Governor)	John Hancock
—	Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791)	Chief Justice	W. Cushing	1790 – October 2, 1791 (Died)
	Robert Treat Paine (1731–1814)	Associate Justice	D. Sewall	1790 – 1804 (Resigned)
—	Nathan Cushing (1742–1812)	Associate Justice	N. Sargent (as Associate Justice)	1790 – 1800 (Resigned)
	Francis Dana (1743–1811)	Chief Justice	N. Sargent (as Chief Justice)	1791 – 1806 (Resigned)
	Thomas Dawes (1731–1809)	Associate Justice	F. Dana	1792 – 1802 (Resigned)
—	Theophilus Bradbury (1739–1803)	Associate Justice	I. Sumner	1797 – July 1803 (Removed due to poor health)
	Samuel Sewall (1757–1814)	Associate Justice	N. Cushing	1800 – 1814 (Continued as Chief Justice)	Caleb Strong
	Theodore Sedgwick (1746–1813)	Associate Justice	T. Dawes	1802 – January 24, 1813 (Died)
—	Simeon Strong (1736–1805)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1801 – 1805 (Died)
	George Thatcher (1754–1824)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1801 – January 1824 (Resigned)
	Theophilus Parsons (1750–1813)	Chief Justice	F. Dana	1806 – October 13, 1813 (Died)
	Isaac Parker (1768–1830)	Associate Justice	S. Strong	1806 – 1814 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Charles Jackson (1775–1855)	Associate Justice	T. Sedgwick	1813 – 1823 (Resigned)
	Samuel Sewall (1757–1814)	Chief Justice	T. Parsons	1814 – June 8, 1814 (Died)
	Daniel Dewey (1766–1815)	Associate Justice	S. Sewall	1814 – May 26, 1815 (Died)
—	Samuel Putnam	Associate Justice	I. Parker (as Associate Justice)	1814 – 1842 (Resigned)
	Isaac Parker (1768–1830)	Chief Justice	S. Sewall	1814 – July 25, 1830 (Died)
—	Samuel Wilde (1771–1855)	Associate Justice	D. Dewey	1815 – 1850 (Resigned)
	Levi Lincoln Jr. (1782–1868)	Associate Justice	G. Thatcher	1824 – 1825 (Elected Governor)	William Eustis
	Marcus Morton (1784–1864)	Associate Justice	L. Lincoln Jr.	1825 – 1840 (Elected Governor)	Levi Lincoln Jr.
	Lemuel Shaw (1781–1861)	Chief Justice	I. Parker	August 30, 1830 – August 21, 1860 (Resigned)
—	Charles Augustus Dewey (1793–1866)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1837 – 1866 (Died)	Edward Everett
—	Samuel Hubbard (d. 1847)	Associate Justice	S. Putnam	1842 – 1847 (Died)	John Davis
	Theron Metcalf (1784–1875)	Associate Justice	M. Morton I (1840)	1848 – 1865 (Resigned)	George N. Briggs
—	Charles E. Forbes (1795–1881)	Associate Justice	T. Metcalf	1848 – 1848 (Resigned)
	Richard Fletcher (1788–1869)	Associate Justice	C. Forbes	1848 – 1853 (Resigned)
	George Tyler Bigelow (1810–1878)	Associate Justice	S. Wilde	1850 – 1860 (Continued as Chief Justice)
	Caleb Cushing (1800–1879)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1852 – 1853 (Appointed U.S. Attorney General)	George S. Boutwell
	Benjamin Thomas (1813–1878)	Associate Justice	R. Fletcher	1853 – 1859 (Resigned)	John H. Clifford
	Pliny Merrick (1794–1867)	Associate Justice	C, Cushing	1853 – 1864 (Resigned)
	Ebenezer R. Hoar (1816–1895)	Associate Justice	J. Nolan	1859 – 1869 (Appointed U.S. Attorney General)	Nathaniel Prentice Banks
	George Tyler Bigelow (1810–1878)	Chief Justice	L. Shaw	1860 – 1867 (Resigned)
	Reuben Atwater Chapman (1801–1873)	Associate Justice		1860 – 1868 (Continued as Chief Justice)
	Horace Gray (1828–1902)	Associate Justice	N. Clifford	1864 – September 15, 1873 (Continued as Chief Justice)	John Albion Andrew
—	James Denison Colt (1819–1881)	Associate Justice	T. Metcalf	1865 – 1866 (Resigned)
	Dwight Foster (1828–1884)	Associate Justice	C. A. Dewey	1866 – 1869 (Resigned)	Alexander H. Bullock
—	John Wells (d. 1875)	Associate Justice	J. D. Colt	1866 – 1875 (Died)
	Reuben Atwater Chapman (1801–1873)	Chief Justice	G. T. Bigelow	1868 – June 28, 1873 (Died)
—	James Denison Colt (1819–1881)	Associate Justice	R. A. Chapman	1868 – 1881 (Died)
	Marcus Morton II (1819–1891)	Associate Justice	E. Hoar	1869 – 1882 (Continued as Chief Justice)	William Claflin
—	Seth Ames (1805–1881)	Associate Justice	D. Foster	1869 – 1881 (Resigned)
	Horace Gray (1828–1902)	Chief Justice	R. A. Chapman	September 15, 1873 – January 9, 1882 (Appointed to Supreme Court of the United States)	William B. Washburn
	Charles Devens (1820–1891)	Associate Justice	H. Gray	1873 – 1877 (Appointed U.S. Attorney General)
	William Endicott (1826–1900)	Associate Justice	Inaugural	1873 – 1882 (Resigned)
—	Otis Lord (1812–1884)	Associate Justice	J. Wells	1875 – 1882 (Resigned)	William Gaston
	Augustus Soule (1827–1887)	Associate Justice	C. Devens	March 27, 1877 – April 11, 1881 (Resigned)	Alexander H. Rice
	Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899)	Associate Justice	S. Ames	1881 – September 4, 1890 (Continued as Chief Justice)	John D. Long
—	William Allen (d. 1891)	Associate Justice		1881 – 1891 (Died)
	Charles Devens (1820–1891)	Associate Justice	A. Soule	1881 – 1891 (Died)
	Marcus Morton II (1819–1891)	Chief Justice	H. Gray	1882 – 1890 (Resigned)
	Waldo Colburn (1824–1885)	Associate Justice	W. C. Endicott	November 10, 1882 – September 26, 1885 (Died)
	Charles Allen (1827–1913)	Associate Justice	M. Morton II	1882 – 1898 (Resigned)
	Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935)	Associate Justice	O. Lord	1882 – 1899 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	William Gardner (1827–1888)	Associate Justice	W. Colburn	1885 – 1887 (Resigned)	George D. Robinson
	Marcus Perrin Knowlton (1839–1918)	Associate Justice	W. Gardner	1887 – 1902 (Continued as Chief Justice)	Oliver Ames
	Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899)	Chief Justice	M. Morton	September 4, 1890 – July 15, 1899 (Died)	John Q. A. Brackett
	James Madison Morton Sr. (1837–1923)	Associate Justice		1890 – 1913 (Resigned)
	James Barker (1839–1905)	Associate Justice	W. Allen	1891 – October 2, 1905 (Died)	William Russell
	John Lathrop (1835–1910)	Associate Justice		1891 – 1906 (Resigned)
	John Wilkes Hammond (1837–1922)	Associate Justice	C. Allen	1898 – 1914 (Resigned)	Roger Wolcott
	Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935)	Chief Justice	W. A. Field	August 2, 1899 – December 4, 1902 (Appointed to Supreme Court of the United States)
	William Loring (1851–1930)	Associate Justice	O. W. Holmes	September 7, 1899 – September 16, 1919 (Resigned)
	Henry Braley (1850–1929)	Associate Justice	M. P. Knowlton	1902 – 1929 (Died)	Winthrop M. Crane
	Marcus Perrin Knowlton (1839–1918)	Chief Justice	O. W. Holmes	1902 – September 7, 1911 (Resigned)
	Henry Sheldon	Associate Justice	Barker	1905 – 1915 (Resigned)	William Lewis Douglas
	Arthur Prentice Rugg (1862–1938)	Associate Justice	J. Lathrop	1906 – 1911 (Continued as Chief Justice)	Curtis Guild Jr.
	Arthur Prentice Rugg (1862–1938)	Chief Justice	M. P. Knowlton	1911 – June 12, 1938 (Died)	Eugene Foss
	Charles DeCourcy (1857–1924)	Associate Justice	A.P. Rugg	1911 – 1924 (Died)
	John C. Crosby (1859–1943)	Associate Justice	J. Morton	December 31, 1913 – October 1, 1937 (Resigned)	David I. Walsh
—	Edward Pierce (1852–1938)	Associate Justice	J. Hammond	1914 – 1937 (Resigned)
—	James Carroll (d. 1932)	Associate Justice	Sheldon	1915 – 1932 (Died)
—	Charles Jenney (1860–1923)	Associate Justice	W. Loring	1919 – November 29, 1923 (Died)	Calvin Coolidge
	William C. Wait (1860–1935)	Associate Justice	C. Jenney	1923 – 1934 (Resigned)	Channing H. Cox
—	George A. Sanderson (1863–1932)	Associate Justice	W. Wait	1924 – 1932 (Died)
—	Fred Tarbell Field (1876–1950)	Associate Justice	H. Braley	January 30, 1929 – June 30, 1938 (Continued as Chief Justice)	Frank G. Allen
—	Charles Donahue (1877–1952)	Associate Justice		March 17, 1932 – April 26, 1944(Resigned)	Joseph B. Ely
—	Henry Lummus	Associate Justice		1932 – 1955
—	Stanley Elroy Qua (1880–1965)	Associate Justice		1934 – 1947 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Arthur Dolan (1876–1949)	Associate Justice	J. C. Crosby	1937 – August 20, 1949 (Resigned)	Charles F. Hurley
	Louis Cox (1874–1961)	Associate Justice	Edward Pierce	1937 – 1944 (Resigned)
—	Fred Tarbell Field (1876–1950)	Chief Justice	A. P. Rugg	June 30, 1938 – July 24, 1947 (Resigned)
—	James Ronan (d. 1959)	Associate Justice	F. T. Field	1938 – 1959 (Died)
—	Raymond Sanger Wilkins (1891–1971)	Associate Justice	L. Cox	1944 – 1956 (Continued as Chief Justice)	Leverett Saltonstall
—	John Spalding	Associate Justice	C. Donahue	1944 – 1971
—	Stanley Elroy Qua (1880–1965)	Chief Justice	F. T. Field	1947 – 1956 (Resigned)	Robert F. Bradford
	Harold P. Williams (1882–1963)	Associate Justice	S. Qua	1947 – 1962 (Resigned)
	Edward Counihan (1882–1961)	Associate Justice	A. Dolan	1949 – 1960 (Resigned)	Paul A. Dever
—	Arthur Whittemore (1896–1969)	Associate Justice	H. Lummus	October 1955 – October 1, 1969 (Died)	Christian Herter
—	Raymond Sanger Wilkins (1891–1971)	Chief Justice	S. E. Qua	1956 – 1970(Resigned)
—	R. Ammi Cutter	Associate Justice		1956 – 1972
	Paul G. Kirk Sr. (1904–1981)	Associate Justice	E. Counihan	November 23, 1960 – December 15, 1970 (Resigned)	Foster Furcolo
—	Jacob Spiegel (1902–1984)	Associate Justice	J. Ronan	1960 – 1972 (Resigned)
—	G. Joseph Tauro (1906–1994)	Associate Justice		1961 – 1970 (Continued as Chief Justice)	John Volpe
—	Paul Reardon (1909–1988)	Associate Justice	H. P. Williams	1962 – 1977 (Resigned)
—	G. Joseph Tauro (1906–1994)	Chief Justice	R. S. Wilkins	1970 – 1976 (Mandatory retirement)
—	Francis Quirico	Associate Justice		1969 – 1981	Francis W. Sargent
—	Robert Braucher (1916–1981)	Associate Justice	P. Kirk	January 18, 1971 – August 26, 1981 (Died)
—	Edward F. Hennessey (1919–2007)	Associate Justice	J. Spalding	1971 – 1976 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Benjamin Kaplan (1911–2010)	Associate Justice	R. A. Cutter	1972 – 1981 (Mandatory retirement)
—	Herbert P. Wilkins (1930–)	Associate Justice	J. Spiegel	1972 – 1996 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Edward F. Hennessey (1919–2007)	Chief Justice	G. J. Tauro	1976 – 1989 (Mandatory retirement)	Michael Dukakis
—	Paul J. Liacos (1929–1999)	Associate Justice	E. Hennessey	1976 – June 20, 1986 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Ruth Abrams (1930–2019)	Associate Justice	P. Reardon	1978 – 2000 (Mandatory retirement)
	Joseph R. Nolan (1925–2013)	Associate Justice	F. Quirico	1981 – 1995 (Mandatory retirement)	Edward J. King
—	Neil L. Lynch (1930–2014)	Associate Justice	B. Kaplan	1981 – 2000 (Mandatory retirement)
—	Francis Patrick O'Connor (1927–2007)	Associate Justice	R. Braucher	1981 – 1997 (Mandatory retirement)
—	Paul J. Liacos (1929–1999)	Chief Justice	E. Hennessey	June 20, 1986 – September 30, 1996 (Resigned)	Michael Dukakis
—	John M. Greaney (1939–)	Associate Justice	P. Liacos	1989 – 2008 (Resigned)
	Charles Fried (1935–2024)	Associate Justice	J. Nolan	September 1995 – June 1999 (Resigned)	William Weld
	Margaret H. Marshall (1944–)	Associate Justice		1996 – October 14, 1999 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Herbert P. Wilkins (1930–)	Chief Justice	P. Liacos	1996 – October 13, 1999 (Resigned)
—	Roderick L. Ireland (1944–)	Associate Justice		1997 – December 20, 2010 (Continued as Chief Justice)
	Margaret H. Marshall (1944–)	Chief Justice	H. Wilkins	October 14, 1999 – October 31, 2010 (Resigned)	Paul Cellucci
—	Judith Cowin (1942–)	Associate Justice	C. Fried	1999 – 2011 (Resigned)
—	Francis X. Spina (1946–)	Associate Justice	M. Marshall	1999 – August 12, 2016 (Mandatory retirement)
—	Martha B. Sosman (1950–2007)	Associate Justice	N. Lynch	2000 – March 10, 2007 (Died)
—	Robert J. Cordy (1949–)	Associate Justice	R. Abrams	2001 – August 12, 2016 (Resigned)
	Margot Botsford (1947–)	Associate Justice	M. Sosman	September 4, 2007 – March 15, 2017 (Mandatory retirement)	Deval Patrick
	Ralph Gants (1954–2020)	Associate Justice	J. Greaney	January 29, 2009 – July 28, 2014 (Continued as Chief Justice)
—	Roderick L. Ireland (1944–)	Chief Justice	M. Marshall	December 20, 2010 – July 25, 2014 (Mandatory retirement)
	Barbara Lenk (1950–)	Associate Justice	J. Cowin	June 8, 2011 – December 1, 2020 (Mandatory retirement)
—	Fernande R.V. Duffly (1949–)	Associate Justice	R. Ireland	February 1, 2011 – July 12, 2016 (Resigned)
	Ralph Gants (1954–2020)	Chief Justice	R. Ireland	July 28, 2014 – September 14, 2020[1][2] (Died)
—	Geraldine Hines (1947–)	Associate Justice	R. Gants	July 31, 2014 – August 18, 2017 (Mandatory retirement)
	Frank Gaziano (1963–)	Associate Justice	F. Spina	August 18, 2016 – Incumbent	Charlie Baker
	Kimberly S. Budd (1966–)	Associate Justice	F. Duffly	August 24, 2016 – December 1, 2020 (Continued as Chief Justice)
	David A. Lowy (1959/60–)	Associate Justice	R. Cordy	August 24, 2016 – February 3, 2024 (Retired)
	Elspeth B. Cypher (1959–)	Associate Justice	M. Botsford	March 31, 2017 – January 12, 2024 (Retired)
	Scott Kafker (1959–)	Associate Justice	G. Hines	August 21, 2017 – Incumbent
	Kimberly S. Budd (1966–)	Chief Justice	R. Gants	December 1, 2020 – Incumbent
	Dalila Argaez Wendlandt (1968/69–)	Associate Justice	B. Lenk	December 4, 2020 – Incumbent
	Serge Georges Jr. (1969-70–)	Associate Justice	K. Budd	December 16, 2020 – Incumbent
—	Bessie Dewar (1980–)	Associate Justice	E. Cypher	January 16, 2024 – Incumbent	Maura Healey
—	Gabrielle Wolohojian (1960–)	Associate Justice	D. Lowy	April 22, 2024 – Incumbent

Notes

References

Further reading

• Whitmore, William Henry (1870). The Massachusetts Civil List for the Colonial and Provincial Periods, 1630-1774. J. Munsell.