Margaret Marshall Appointed to Supreme Judicial Court
On this day in 1999, Margaret Marshall became the first woman appointed Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The oldest court in the Western Hemisphere, the SJC was established in 1693 in the aftermath of the Salem witch trials. Over three centuries later, Governor Paul Cellucci made history when he named a South African-born woman to lead the court. When her involvement in the anti-apartheid movement put her life at risk, Margaret Marshall emigrated to the United States, earned a law degree, and settled in Massachusetts. Her nomination as Chief Justice was controversial, and some of her rulings have been even more so. Undoubtedly the most controversial is the 2003 Goodridge decision, which legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
Related Moments
Supreme Court Strikes Down "Separate but Equal"
Supreme Court Strikes Down "Separate but Equal"
On this day in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the doctrine of separate but equal. "Segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race . . . deprives the children of...
Jury Decides in Favor of Elizabeth "Mum Bett" Freeman
Jury Decides in Favor of Elizabeth "Mum Bett" Freeman
On this day in 1781, a jury in Great Barrington found in favor of "Mum Bett," a black woman who had been a slave in the home of Colonel John Ashley for at least 30...
Ponzi Scheme Begins to Unravel
Ponzi Scheme Begins to Unravel
On this day in 1920, the Boston Post ran a story that ultimately exposed one of the biggest financial swindles in history. In a series of articles that won the paper its first Pulitzer Prize,...
