[Little Ray]

Under the Massachusetts Constitution, the governor has the power to nominate and to appoint all judicial officers, with the advice and consent of the council.

Sounds like Romney had pretty considerable power. Romney's supporters try to put a positive spin on it:

Romney’s own words on the subject might give us more insight into his thinking. Romney defended all of his appointments. He stated that “With regards to those at the district court and clerk magistrate level, their political views aren’t really going to come into play unless their views indicate they will be soft on crime…” Romney stated that his only criteria in picking lower court judges was that they were tough on crime, something he emphasized throughout his time as governor. Romney further elaborated by saying that his criteria would change if an opening were to come on the Massachusetts Supreme Court and then he would focus more on ensuring that the judge had a “strict constructionist, judicial philosophy.”

I think that's just piling it higher and deeper, myself. And we know that some of those appointments had profound effects outside of criminal cases.

http://www.amycontrada.com/Romney_s_Judiciary.html

[deport]

Thanks. I didn’t know and hadn’t researched it any. I did remember Guiliana getting hit hard and he had very little say as he was presented nominees from which to choose from.

thanks for the info.