Suffolk Law Alumnus Confirmed for Seat on SJC

In August 2016, Judge Frank M. Gaziano, a 1989 graduate of Suffolk Law, took the oath of office and began his service on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Staff Writer

Gaziano, 53, had been serving as a justice on the state’s Superior Court when Gov. Charlie Baker nominated Gaziano, Kimberly S. Budd and David A. Lowy to fill three vacancies on the Supreme Court. Gaziano was the first to win approval from the Governor’s Council.

Six other Suffolk Law alumni sit on the highest state courts in New England, three as chief justices (New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). Gaziano’s confirmation means that, with the exception of Maine, Suffolk Law alumni serve on the highest court of every state in New England.

Gaziano has been an active supporter of Suffolk Law’s students. He has taken on Law School interns through the school’s First-Year Summer Internship Program, which places students in judicial internships during the summer after their first year of law school. Gaziano has taken a summer intern since 2012 and also has had upper-level student interns during the academic year.

Gaziano was appointed to the Superior Court in 2004 by then-Gov. Mitt Romney. Prior to his appointment to that court, Gaziano had served as a prosecutor for 12 years, first in Plymouth County and then with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. He began his legal career as a litigation associate at Foley Hoag.

As a Superior Court judge, Gaziano addressed the fallout from the 2012 Annie Dookhan drug lab scandal. He also presided over the 2009 trial of imposter and murderer Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, also known as Clark Rockefeller.