Margaret Marshall is in her late fifties and is married to Anthony Lewis, former columnist for the New York Times, who is twenty-years her senior. She apparently has no children and some say that as a result, she has no appreciation for the feelings of women who do. They say she has never had any experience with a family and has focused only on her career.
The Globe lobbied heavily for Marshall in its Editorial, opinion and news pages. The appointment was strongly opposed by many. In a "news story" on Oct. 12, 1999, titled "Rulings show nominee a moderate jurist with progressive views," the first sentence was: "Sex offenders have rights. … Modern families no longer mean just mom, dad, and the kids."
The paper cited some of those "moderate" rulings:
o The Globe wrote: "When the SJC last August ruled that anyone convicted of a sex crime is entitled to a hearing before being listed on the state's sex-offender registry, Marshall wrote: 'The burden will be on the sex offender board to establish at the hearing that the offender poses a risk to vulnerable populations.'"
o Concerning an opinion where Marshall had struck down a Boston ordinance creating domestic partners because it was clearly forbidden by state law, the Globe wrote:
"Marshall urged state lawmakers to craft legislation that acknowledges the place of nontraditional families in modern life. 'We recognize that . . . [a] "family" may no longer be constituted simply of a wage-earning father, his dependent wife, and the couple's children,' Marshall wrote. Nonetheless, 'Adjustments in the legislation to reflect these new social and economic realities must come from the Legislature.'" (The foregoing text appeared in the Globe exactly as printed here.)
The news article also claimed: "An examination of her rulings and the comments of colleagues indicate a moderate jurist who tempers some of her progressive views with judicial restraint and an awareness of the powers and limits of the courts. In the tradition-bound court that convenes in a high-rise on Pemberton Square, Marshall, the controversial chief justice nominee, has also added energy and spice to a frequently bland bench."
Marshall graduated from college in her South African homeland in 1966 and came here two years later for a master's degree from Harvard. After Yale Law School, she became a partner in the prestigious firm of Choate, Hall and Stewart, leaving there to become General Counsel for Harvard University. She was appointed to the SJC in 1996 and then elevated by Gov. Cellucci to Chief in 1999.
Yup. Let's spice things up a bit. Let's sugar-coat this whole pile of dung to mask the odor.
First woman approved as head of Massachusetts
high court
BOSTON (AP) — Justice Margaret Marshall was elevated to chief
justice of Massachusetts' highest court Wednesday, becoming the first
woman to head the nation's oldest appellate court.
Ms. Marshall, a former chief counsel at Harvard University, overcame
charges of anti-Catholic bias to win a 6-3 confirmation vote by the
Governor's Council, which votes on nominations by the governor.
"1 follow in the footsteps of giants," Ms. Marshall said. "1 do so with
humility, and with a deep commitment to the rule of law."
Ms. Marshall, 55, a native of South Africa, was appointed an associate
justice of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1996. She was at Harvard at the
time and had previously been in private practice.
Her nomination to head the 307-year-old court was marred when
Cardinal Bernard Law raised concerns that she harbored anti-Catholic
bias.
Law, who heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, wrote last
month to Gov. Paul Cellucci and said Ms. Marshall was "open to serious
charges of anti-Catholicism."
He cited an incident in which Ms. Marshall, while at Harvard, chastised a
professor who had used university stationery for a personal note with an
anti-abortion message.
Catholic groups also feared she could not be impartial on abortion cases
because she once served on an abortion clinic's board of trustees. Ms.
Marshall denied her personal views would affect her role as jurist.
Law later retracted his complaint after speaking with Ms. Marshall, who
is Protestant.
"She gave me her assurance that she was not anti-Catholic," he said, "and
I have absolutely no reason to not accept her word on that."
10/13/99 8:44 PM
One of sKerry's first US Supreme Court nominees?
What was the name of the state congressmen in Mass that wrote the gay marriage legislation .. and who is a partner with Gore's top advisor??
Ultra liberals, borderline communists. What a pedigree.
The most disturbing things is that most voters don't care. Here in Florida we have reelected the Florida Supreme Court justices who made a mockery of our laws in 2000.
I'm only one of the minority who voted against those activist judges. Most voters don't care to vote these activist judges out; furthermore, neither do most voters care to elect politicians who will appoint and confirm conservative judges.
Married huh? Yikes. Glad it ain't to me.....
Just in her mid-50's? Life must have been rough on her, because her picture makes her look 20 years older than that.
Why does the worst liberal gutter trash of other countries come here anyway?
Since when do you directly have to experience something in order to have your rulings seem more legitimate? Does that mean all judges must have been or should have family members who've been murdered, raped, burglarized, etc...?
This is just a cheap shot and has nothing to do with her being a leftist. If Marshall had children she'd still be singing the same song while dropping her kids off to be warehoused during the day.
They call this moderate? There is nothing with the judge concentrating on her career and abstaining from motherhood, but using her office to make new laws and impose her agenda on an unwilling public is abuse of power. Judges are only supposed to interpret the law, not implement social change. Whoever appointed her to the bench owes the American people an apology.