Miscellaneous

Our Pick

By Anne Skove, Esq.

I sometimes remind my native born friends that justice is like oxygen: while you are breathing it, you barely notice it. Cut off the supply, and you will notice the loss more quickly than you realize.

-- Margaret H. Marshall, Chief Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Court of Justice.

We've seen dozens of names for J. Souter's replacement. One we haven't seen, and one we think would be most excellent: Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall.

Chief Justice Marshall has an interesting background. She was born and raised in South Africa. (No, there are no point-of-origin requirements for the SCOTUS.) She was VP and General Counsel of Obama's school: Harvard. In 1996, she became the first woman chief of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

In her sixties, she is perhaps a bit older than lefties might hope. (We feel ridiculous even mentioning age, but the point is bound to arise.) That said, her background would lend a new dimension to the discussion about the impact of international law on the U.S. Her passion for human rights would find a good home in today's legal landscape.

Fun fact: her husband is Anthony Lewis.

She's opined on same-sex marriage, the rights of children conceived via artificial insemination, and other cutting-edge issues, which means she's given more thought to these things than most people have. Chief Justice Marshall is also a stalwart advocate for judicial (and, one suspects, any and all) independence.

See An Interview with Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, President of the Conference of Chief Justices, The Third Branch (April 2009). See also Charlie Rose's Chief Guest, court-o-rama (July 20, 2009), and SJC Chief Decries Attacks on Judges, Jenna Russell, Boston Globe (May 23, 2005).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on May 03, 2009 (boomark / email).