African American Judges in Massachusetts

Honorable George Lewis Ruffin (deceased)
Appointed 1883, Charlestown Municipal Court

Honorable G. Bruce Robinson (deceased)
Appointed 1948, Juvenile Court (special)

Honorable Edward O. Gourdin (deceased)
Appointed 1952, District Court (special)
Appointed 1958, Superior Court

Honorable Elwood S. McKenney (deceased)
Appointed 1960, District Court

Honorable Joseph S. Mitchell (deceased)
Appointed 1966, Superior Court

Honorable Harry J. Elam (deceased)
Appointed 1971, Boston Municipal Court
Appointed 1978, Chief Justice, Boston Municipal Court
Appointed 1983, Superior Court

Honorable David S. Nelson (deceased)
Appointed 1973, Superior Court

Honorable Herbert E. Tucker, Jr. (deceased)
Appointed 1973, District Court

Honorable Richard L. Banks (deceased)
Appointed 1973, District Court

Honorable James W. Bailey (deceased)
Appointed 1973, District Court

Honorable Baron H. Martin (retired)
Appointed 1974, District Court

Honorable Ronald D. Harper (retired)
Appointed 1974, Juvenile Court

Honorable Frederick L. Brown (retired)
Appointed 1976, Appeals Court

Honorable Margaret A. Burnham (retired)
Appointed 1977, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Roderick L. Ireland (retired)
Appointed 1977, Juvenile Court
Appointed 1990, Appeals Court
Appointed 1997, Supreme Judicial Court
Appointed 2010, Chief Justice, Supreme Judicial Court

Honorable George A. Sheehy (deceased)
Appointed 1978, District Court

Honorable Rudolph F. Pierce (retired)
Appointed 1978, Superior Court

Honorable Julian T. Houston (retired)
Appointed 1979, District Court
Appointed 1990, Superior Court

Honorable Marie O. Jackson-Thompson (retired)
Appointed 1980, District Court

Honorable James D. McDaniel, Jr. (deceased)
Appointed 1981, District Court
Appointed 1982, Superior Court

Honorable Darrell L. Outlaw (retired)
Appointed 1981, District Court

Honorable R. Malcolm Graham (retired)
Appointed 1982, District Court
Appointed 1986, Superior Court
Appointed 2004, Appeals Court

Honorable Barbara A. Dortch-Okara (retired)
Appointed 1984, Boston Municipal Court
Appointed 1989, Superior Court
Appointed 1998, Chief Justice for Administration and Management of the Trial Court

Honorable John G. Martin (retired)
Appointed 1984, Housing Court

Honorable Charles Ray Johnson (retired)
Appointed 1984, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Charles T. Spurlock (retired)
Appointed 1986, District Court
Appointed 1992, Superior Court

Honorable Severlin B. Singleton, III (retired)
Appointed 1989, District Court

Honorable Herman J. Smith, Jr. (retired)
Appointed 1990, Housing Court
Appointed 1995, Superior Court

Honorable Paul L. McGill
Appointed 1990, District Court

Honorable June C. Miles (deceased)
Appointed 1990, Juvenile Court

Honorable Emogene Johnson Smith
Appointed 1992, Industrial Accident Board
Appointed 2009, District Court

Honorable Susan Maze-Rothstein (retired)
Appointed 1992, Industrial Accident Board

Honorable Gregory L. Phillips (retired)
Appointed 1992, District Court

Honorable Edward R. Redd (retired)
Appointed 1993, District Court

Honorable Milton L. Wright, Jr. (retired)
Appointed 1993, Roxbury District Court

Honorable Mark Hart Summerville
Appointed 1993, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Judith Nelson Dilday (retired)
Appointed 1993, Probate and Family Court

Honorable Leslie E. Harris (retired)
Appointed 1994, Juvenile Court

Honorable Tina S. Page
Appointed 1999, Superior Court

Honorable Robert E. Baylor (retired)
Appointed 1999, District Court

Honorable Jacques Claude Leroy (retired)
Appointed 1994, District Court

Honorable Joseph M. Walker, III (deceased)
Appointed 1994, District Court
Appointed 2000, Superior Court

Honorable Gwendolyn R. Tyre (retired)
Appointed 1996, Juvenile Court

Honorable Annette Forde (retired)
Appointed 1997, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Marjory Ann Collins German (retired)
Appointed 1999, Juvenile Court

Honorable Lee G. Johnson (deceased)
Appointed 2001, District Court

Honorable Geraldine S. Hines (retired)
Appointed 2002, Superior Court
Appointed 2013, Appeals Court
Appointed 2014, Supreme Judicial Court

Honorable Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr.
Appointed 2002, Housing Court

Honorable Julie J. Bernard
Appointed 2002, District Court

Honorable Kenneth V. Desmond, Jr.
Appointed 2005, Boston Municipal Court
Appointed 2012, Superior Court
Appointed 2016, Appeals Court

Honorable Michael C. Bolden
Appointed 2005, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Stacey J. Fortes
Appointed 2006, District Court

Honorable Steven E. Thomas
Appointed 2008, District Court

Honorable Kimberly S. Budd
Appointed 2009, Superior Court
Appointed 2016, Supreme Judicial Court

Honorable Garry V. Inge
Appointed 2009, Superior Court

Honorable Angel Kelley Brown
Appointed 2009, District Court
Appointed 2013, Superior Court

Honorable Shannon Frison
Appointed 2009, Boston Municipal Court
Appointed 2013, Superior Court

Honorable Pamela M. Dashiell
Appointed 2009, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Benjamin C. Barnes
Appointed 2009, District Court

Honorable Antoinette E. McLean Leoney
Appointed 2010, District Court

Honorable Franco J. GoBourne
Appointed 2010, District Court

Honorable Judith J. Phillips
Appointed 2011, Juvenile Court

Honorable Charles Groce, III
Appointed 2012, District Court

Honorable Michael Williams
Appointed 2012, Department of Industrial Accidents

Honorable Cesar A. Archilla
Appointed 2013, District Court

Honorable Jonathan R. Tynes
Appointed 2013, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Serge Georges, Jr.
Appointed 2013, Boston Municipal Court

Honorable Helen Brown-Bryant
Appointed 2014, Juvenile Court

Honorable Patrick S. Sabbs
Appointed 2016, District Court

Honorable Ina Howard-Hogan
Appointed 2016, District Court

Honorable Michaela C. Stewart
Appointed 2017, Juvenile Court

Honorable Janine D. Rivers
Appointed 2018, Probate and Family Court

FEDERAL JUDGES

Honorable David S. Nelson (deceased)
Appointed 1980, United States District Court

Honorable Reginald C. Lindsay (deceased)
Appointed 1994, United States District Court

Honorable Denise Jefferson Casper
Appointed 2010, United States District Court

Honorable Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson
Appointed 2010, United States Court of Appeals