Intellectual Property Law

Judge Ralph Gants: SJC?s Gain Will Be BLS?s Loss

By Lee.Gesmer

Today’s Boston Globe reports that Governor Duval Patrick will nominate Superior Court Judge Ralph Gants to the seat on the Supreme Judicial Court now vacated by Justice John Greaney.  This is a great nomination - Judge Gants is truly a superstar of the Massachusetts Superior Court - without question one of the best, if not the best, minds on the state trial court.  He has reportedly been on the “short list” of potential nominees for the last few weeks, and there was little question in my mind that he was the outstanding choice on that list.  I expect his nomination to the SJC to be approved by the legislature in a heart beat.

Governor Patrick and Judge Gants

But, Judge Gants’ nomination to the SJC leaves the Business Litigation Session with a huge loss.  Judge Gants was the de facto number two judge in that session (the “BLS2″ session) before Judge Allen Van Gestel’s retirement last year, and he has been the presiding judge of the two-judge session since then.  At the BLS Judge Gants has been known as a smart (very smart), no BS judge, who has a high energy level, is on top of his docket, is always prepared for complex motions, who can cut  quickly to the core issues in cases before him, who is polite but firm with counsel, and who can turn out strong written decisions soon after oral argument on a motion.  It’s an understatement to say that this combination of qualities in a judge doesn’t occur every day.

Judge Judith Fabricant has been the number 2 judge in this session (the BLS2 session) since Judge Van Gestel’s retirement, but it’s unclear if she will provide what has become a tradition of leadership and excellence in the relatively short period of time since the BLS was created, or even whether she is interested in taking on the responsibility of leading the BLS.  Being the “BLS1 Judge” is a significant commitment, and not every judge is well suited to this responsibility. Most of Judge Fabricant’s experience (before her appointment to the Superior Court in 1996) was as a criminal prosecutor and then an assistant attorney general.  Whether she feels that she has the depth of experience appropriate to head the BLS remains to be seen.  And, it’s worth keeping in mind that the Suffolk Business Litigation Session.

It’s also worth observing that the Business Litigation Session is not a “statutory” court - it was formed in 2000 as a pilot project, and exists at the discretion of the Chief Justice of the Superior Court.  Without a strong and committed leader (as Judge Van Gestel was, and as Judge Gants was beginning to prove himself to be), the future of the BLS is not certain.

So, the BLS’s loss of Judge Gants leaves the BLS in limbo - will Judge Fabricant take over BLS1?  If so, will she provide the level of quality provided by Allen Van Gestel and Ralph Gants? Who will become the new “number two” at the BLS?

Finally, it’s worth noting that the BLS appears to have emerged as a “feeder court” for the SJC - first Justice Margot Botsford (who was the BLS2 Judge before Gants), and now Judge Gants have gone from the BLS to the SJC.  Whether or not this is coincidence is open to debate, but it’s fair to say that becoming a member of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts is an aspiration for every Superior Court Judge, and whether  by reason of coincidence or otherwise, the BLS has emerged as a career path to the SJC.

Full post as published by Mass Law Blog on December 01, 2008 (boomark / email).