Top judge praises court

While the Massachusetts Legislature debated constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriages at the Statehouse Wednesday, state Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall praised judges’ constitutional rights to override legislative decisions.

Judges’ rights are rooted in the Massachusetts Constitution, said Marshall, who wrote the November decision that declared the statewide ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional, speaking to a crowd of more than 100 people – including many same-sex marriage supporters – at the New England Conservatory of Music. She did not address the gay marriage issue directly during the talk.

“The idea that judges in our system of government have the power to say no to legislators is the great idea of the Massachusetts Constitution,” Marshall said.

She said an enormous privilege of being an American is to be judged by a free and independent judge, one who is not biased and is not influenced by politicians. She added that extreme actions by “nitwit” legislators can take law-interpreting out of judges’ hands and can destroy the system of checks and balances.

“Do we in the United States too often assume that the great institutions of our government can withstand such an attack?” she asked.

Marshall could not comment on any details regarding the gay marriage issue, but one man applauded Marshall’s Nov. 18 decision, asking, “Did you know you’re our hero?”

Marshall said when looking at an issue like gay marriage, she takes a glance at the broad spectrum instead of a moment in time. She added that many judges have been criticized for controversial decisions, and such criticism hurts the reputation of the judicial system.

“Of course people are free to criticize,” she said. “But we have seen an increase on attacks on judges … in other parts of the country.

“How can justice be done fairly and independently in certain areas [of the constitution]?” she asked.

But Marshall told the crowd that legislators deserve respect for campaigning and undertaking some of the toughest jobs in the country.

Since her appointment as chief justice of the SJC in 1997, Marshall said she has attempted to offer civil rights to all Massachusetts citizens. She added that she has fought for civil rights since her student involvement against Apartheid, the white-establishment movement in her native South Africa in the 1960s.

“Although I violated no law, my personal activities put me at risk,” she said. “No court would protect me.”

Upon arriving in America, Marshall received her law degree at Harvard University and practiced law in the Boston area before becoming Harvard’s general counsel. Marshall said as a lawyer or judge, she has never taken America’s constitutional democracy for granted.

Brookline resident Barbara McCollough said Marshall is the right leader for this historic civil rights issue.

“I feel she is doing a historic thing on a courageous determination and is very concerned on what’s happening,” McCollough said. “She is a person of vision, of strength and courage.”

McCollough added that the Catholic Church has no right to interfere with political affairs.

“The Catholic Church is no longer acting as a religious institute but as a political one,” she said. “There has to be a separation between church and state, and we’ve lost that.”

Marshall said it is essential for the United States Constitution to be a model of human equality, like the Massachusetts Constitution – the oldest written constitution still in effect in the world.

“Sometimes the majority behind representatives may stomp on a minority – sometimes a hated minority,” Marshall said. “It is essential to preserve the rights of the individual, which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”