Barbara Lenk will be the first openly gay judge to serve on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court following a 5 to 3 vote by the Governor’s Council, on Wednesday.
Lenk marks Gov. Deval Patrick’s fourth appointment to the seven-person Supreme Judicial Court, which passed the landmark ruling that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2003.
“I thank the members of the Council who concluded, as I did, that Justice Lenk’s sharp intellect, vast experience and deep sense of humanity will make her an outstanding Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court,” Patrick said in a statement issued after the Governor’s Council vote. “The people of the Commonwealth will be well served by having her extraordinary talents and wisdom join our highest court.
Lenk, who married her partner in 2004 after the legislation allowing same-sex marriage was passed, is replacing the retiring Justice Judith Cowin.
The opposition who voted against Lenk are Councilors Mary-Ellen Manning, Jennie Caissie and Charles Cipollini.
In his argument against Lenk, Cipollini criticized sex education in schools that did not require parental consent and the controversial website mariatalks.com, which provides information for teens on contraception and abortion, among other topics.
Cipollini said the Supreme Judicial Court did not need another highly liberal member on its bench.
This hearing comes after Lenk’s confirmation last week, where tension ran high for over eight hours, according to a Daily Free Press article.
Cipollini repeatedly asked Lenk to give her opinion on specific issues, the article said.
Many other social conservatives voiced their opinions concerning Lenk’s nomination, with many wondering if Lenk, would bring a pro-gay agenda to the court, according to the Daily Free Press article.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League, said Lenk would pose an “unacceptable risk.”
“Does she support the right of parents to control the moral upbringing of their own children, or does she believe the state has the right to intrude in matters of AIDS education, sex education, condom distribution and programs which refer to homosexual behavior?” Doyle said.
Despite the opposition at Lenk’s confirmation, many also came forward in favor of her nomination, saying she was fair, decent and of uncommon intellect, the article said.
“She has balanced judgment, she’s thoughtful, she’s collegial, she is a consensus builder, she’s hard working, her decisions are well-written and well-reasoned and she’s a nice human being,” said Judge Roderick Ireland, Chief Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Her supporters argued that the focus on Lenk’s sexual orientation was irrelevant and disregarded her credentials.
Lenk earned a doctorate in political philosophy from Yale University and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, according to her profile on the Massachusetts Judicial Branch website.
Lenk went on to work at a law firm, serve on the Superior Court and serve on the Appeals Court as an appellate justice. Lenk has also been involved with the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal, the Judicial Administration Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Board of Directors of the Volunteers Lawyer Project of the Boston Bar Association.
As for her sexual orientation creating a bias, Lenk said, “as a judge, my only allegiance is to the rule of law and to the fair and equal treatment of all litigants.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
