Kimberly S. Budd
2020 - Present
2036
4
Kimberly S. Budd is a judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice. She assumed office on December 1, 2020. Her current term ends on October 23, 2036.
In Massachusetts, the position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court (similar to the Supreme Court of the United States) rather than a peer-selected leadership position. Budd was nominated for the chief justice position by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on October 28, 2020. She was confirmed by the Massachusetts Governor's Council on November 18, 2020, succeeding former chief justice Ralph D. Gants, who passed away on September 14, 2020. Baker nominated Serge Georges Jr. to fill the associate justice position Budd held.[1][2][3]
Budd first became a member of the court through gubernatorial appointment. She was nominated to the court by Baker on June 14, 2016, and confirmed by the Massachusetts Governor's Council on August 10, 2016.[4][5] To read more about judicial selection in Massachusetts, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[6] Budd received a confidence score of Indeterminate.[7] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography
Budd received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1988 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991.[8] Budd began her legal career as law clerk to Chief Justice Joseph P. Warner of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. She then worked as an associate at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C. She also served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, as a university attorney in the General Counsel's Office of Harvard University, and as director of the community values program at Harvard Business School.[8]
Budd was previously an associate justice for the Superior Court in Massachusetts. She was nominated to the superior court by Democratic Governor Deval Patrick in July 2009 and began serving in this position in September 2009.[9][8]
She was first nominated to the supreme court by Gov. Charlie Baker on June 14, 2016, and confirmed by the Governor's Council on August 10, 2016.[4][5] Budd succeeded Justice Fernande Duffly after Duffly's July 2016 retirement. She served as a justice on the court until she was nominated to the position of chief justice by Gov. Baker in October 2020.[1]
Appointments
Massachusetts Supreme Court
2016 appointment
Budd was nominated to the supreme court by Gov. Charlie Baker on June 14, 2016, and confirmed by the Governor's Council on August 10, 2016.[4][5] Budd succeeded Justice Fernande Duffly after Duffly's July 2016 retirement.
2020 appointment to chief justice
Budd was nominated to the position of chief justice by Gov. Baker in October 2020.[1]
Massachusetts Superior Court
2009 appointment
Budd was nominated to theSuperior Court by Democratic Governor Deval Patrick in July 2009 and began serving in this position in September 2009.[10][8]
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[11]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[12]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Kimberly
Budd
Massachusetts
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Indeterminate - Judicial Selection Method:
Direct gubernatorial appointment - Key Factors:
- Donated over $2,000 to Democratic candidates
- Appointed by a Republican governor
Partisan Profile
Details:
Budd donated $2,300 to Democratic candidates and organizations. She was appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker (R).
Noteworthy cases
Lunn v. Commonwealth
On July 24, 2017, a unanimous Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that Massachusetts law does not authorize state court officials to detain someone based solely on a request by federal immigration authorities.[13] Federal authorities make that request using a civil immigration detainer. As the federal government acknowledged, the court wrote, civil immigration detainers “are simply requests. They are not commands, and they impose no mandatory obligations on the State authorities to which they are directed.” Therefore, the court said, the question was whether state law authorized court officials to detain someone based solely on a civil detainer. Noting the specific circumstances under which state laws empower court officials to arrest or detain someone, the court ruled that “Massachusetts law provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody.”[13]
State supreme court judicial selection in Massachusetts
- See also: Judicial selection in Massachusetts
The seven justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court are appointed by the governor with the approval of the Governor's Council. The Governor's Council is constitutionally authorized and advises the governor on government affairs in Massachusetts. The council is composed of eight members and is elected biennially by the voters. Judges on the supreme court serve until the mandatory retirement age of 70.[14]
Qualifications
Judges of this court must be under the age of 70.[14]
Chief justice
The chief justice is also appointed by the governor with council approval, serving until age 70 as well.[14]
Vacancies
Vacancies on the supreme court are filled by the governor with the approval of the Governor's Council. Judges serve until the mandatory retirement age of 70.[14]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Boston Globe, "Baker nominates Kimberly Budd as chief justice", Oct. 28, 2020
- ↑ Boston Herald, "Kimberly Budd unanimously confirmed as first-ever Black woman to serve as chief justice of Supreme Judicial Court", Nov. 18, 2020
- ↑ 10 Boston, "Ralph Gants, Chief Justice of Massachusetts' Top Court, Dies", September 14, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Patriot Ledger, "Judge from Scituate among three nominees to state's highest court," June 14, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 WBUR News, "Governor's Council Confirms Budd, Baker's Third SJC Nominee," August 10, 2016
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Mass Live.com, "Kimberly Budd, daughter of Springfield native and former U.S. attorney Wayne Budd, nominated for judgeship," July 8, 2009
- ↑ The Massachusetts Court System, "Superior Court Judge List," accessed April 10, 2015
- ↑ The Massachusetts Court System, "Superior Court Judge List," accessed April 10, 2015
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Massachusetts Supreme Court, Lunn v. Commonwealth Slip opinion, filed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Massachusetts," accessed August 25, 2021
Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Massachusetts • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Massachusetts
State courts:
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court • Massachusetts Appeals Court • Massachusetts Superior Courts • Massachusetts District Courts • Massachusetts Housing Courts • Massachusetts Juvenile Courts • Massachusetts Land Courts • Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts • Boston Municipal Courts, Massachusetts
State resources:
Courts in Massachusetts • Massachusetts judicial elections • Judicial selection in Massachusetts