BOSTON — The Governor’s Council has approved Gov. Maura Healey’s controversial pick of an ex-girlfriend to fill a vacancy on the state’s highest court.
The council voted 6-1 to approve the confirmation of Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian to fill a seat on the Supreme Judicial Court left by Justice David Lowy, who retired Feb. 3 after seven years on the high court.
Councilor Terry Kennedy, who voted in favor of her nomination, said he was bombarded with calls from lawyers, judges and others who lauded Wolohojian’s experience and temperament as a judge. He said the fact that she was previously in a relationship with the governor wasn’t a factor in his decision to support her confirmation.
“There’s no question to me that this nominee is qualified for that job, period,” Kennedy said in remarks. “I have never asked a nominee about their personal life and I never will.”
But Councilor Tara Jacobs cast the lone vote against Wolohojian, saying she couldn’t get over the “appearance of impropriety” about her nomination to the bench.
“I don’t want to invalidate the enormous qualifications of this candidate. I think she has a fantastic resume and experience,” she said. “I’m really more coming from a place of concern about the process, the implications and the appearance that got us here today.”
Healey’s nomination has faced scrutiny because she and Wolohojian were romantically involved and previously lived together in Charlestown when she was attorney general.
Healey, the first woman and first lesbian to be elected governor of Massachusetts, now lives with her current partner, Joanna Lydgate, in Arlington.
Councilor Paul DePalo, who voted to confirm Wolohojian, said he was dismayed how the public discourse over her nomination focused on her romantic relationship with Healey.
“In some corners, the public discourse jumped right over this nominee’s impeccable, unquestioned experience, qualifications, her pedigree, her temperament, her reputation over a decade on the appeals court writing hundreds of opinions,” he said in remarks. “The narrative jumped right to a salacious story line designed to raise alarms.”
Last week, supporters of Wolohojian, who included lawyers, judges, court staff and former colleagues, packed into the Gardner Auditorium at the Statehouse and lauded her experience and temperament as an attorney and appellate judge.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, who co-chaired Wednesday’s Governor’s Council meeting, praised Wolohojian as “one of our state’s most experienced appellate judges,” noting her 16-year tenure on the Appeals Court.
Wolohojian was appointed to the Appeals Court in 2008 and has overseen 2,700 appeals and authored more than 900 decisions, she told the panel. She also serves as the chair of the SJC’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Previously, she served as a law clerk to Judge Rya Zobel of the U.S. District Court in Boston and later to Judge Bailey Aldrich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Wolohojian worked in private practice in the 1990s at the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr, which is now known as WilmerHale. She became a partner in the firm’s litigation department working on state and federal court cases, according to the Healey administration.
Wolohojian is Healey’s second pick for the Supreme Judicial Court, with two retirements helping the first-term governor leave her mark on the court.
She previously nominated former State Solicitor Elizabeth “Bessie” Dewar to the SJC, who was unanimously approved last month by the Governor’s Council.
The state’s Republican party blasted what they called Wolohojian’s “rubber stamp” approval after vetting process by a judicial search committee that “consisted of a tight-knit inner circle” mostly Healey appointees.
The party’s chairwoman also reiterated concerns about whether Wolohojian will recuse herself from any cases involving the executive branch.
“The entire process appears to have been a rubber stamp rather than a serious examination of important ethical considerations,” MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale said in a statement. “Many legal scholars continue to believe that it is wholly inappropriate for a Governor to nominate a former romantic partner to a court that will rule on matters pertaining to their office.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at [email protected].
By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter
Source link
