Francis Spina

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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Sitting justices
Margaret Marshall Ralph Gants Roderick Ireland Francis Spina Judith Cowin Robert Cordy Margot Botsford
Notable rulings
Former justices
Massachusetts on Judgepedia

Francis X. Spina is a justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the state's highest court. He was appointed to this position on October 14, 1999. His term will expire in 2016. Appointments to the Massachusetts high court are permanent to age 70.

Biography

Associate Justice Spina was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on November 13, 1946. He received a B.A. degree from Amherst College and a J.D. degree from Boston College Law School. From 1972 to 1974 Justice Spina served with Western Massachusetts Legal Services. From 1975-1977 he served as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Pittsfield Law Department. From 1979-1983 he served as Second Assistant District Attorney in the Berkshire County Attorney's Office. Justice Spina was a partner with the Pittsfield law firms of Reder, Whalen, and Spina and Katz, Lapointe and Spina from 1983 to 1993.

Justice Spina served on the Superior Court from 1993 to 1997; the Massachusetts Appeals Court from 1997 to 1999; and was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court on October 14, 1999. He lives in Pittsfield with his wife Sally (O'Donnell) Spina.

Notable opinions

Spina was one of three justices to dissent in the Goodridge v. Department of Public Health case, which legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

External links

• Biography of Francis Spina