Roderick L. Ireland
| Roderick L. Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | |
|
In office December 20, 2010 – July 25, 2014 |
|
| Nominated by | Deval Patrick |
| Preceded by | Margaret H. Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Gants |
| Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | |
|
In office 1997 – December 19, 2010 |
|
| Nominated by | William Weld |
| Succeeded by | Fernande R.V. Duffly |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 3, 1944 Springfield, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater |
Lincoln University Columbia Law School Harvard Law School Northeastern University |
Roderick L. Ireland (born December 3, 1944) is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. He was nominated for Chief Justice by Governor Deval Patrick on November 4, 2010, and sworn in on December 20.He retired from service on the court on July 25, 2014.
Chief Justice Ireland is a native of Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Lincoln University with a B.A. in 1966, from Columbia Law School with a J.D. in 1969, from Harvard Law School with an LL.M. in 1975, and from Northeastern University's Law, Policy, and Society Program with a PhD. in 1998.
In 1971, he became one of the first staff attorneys on the Roxbury Defenders Committee, a nonprofit established to provide legal services to impoverished citizens of Roxbury, Boston. In 1977, he was nominated to the Boston Juvenile Court, and in 1990, to the Massachusetts Court of Appeals. He was appointed to both courts by Governor Michael Dukakis.
In 1997, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by Governor William Weld. He is the first African-American associate justice and also the first African-American chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. He resigned from the high court in 2014, and was replaced by Associate Justice Ralph Gants.
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