United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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• Judges

District of Massachusetts First Circuit Chief: Mark Wolf Judges: 11 Posts: 13 Vacancies: 2 Active judges Casper • Gorton • O'Toole • Saris • Saylor • Stearns • Tauro • Woodlock • Young • Zobel Senior Judges Harrington • Ponsor Magistrate Judges Chief Magistrate: Kenneth Neiman Jennifer Boal • Marianne Bowler • Robert Collings • Timothy Hillman • Judith Dein • Leo Sorokin Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is is a U.S. district court. whose jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Vacancy warning level

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts's vacancy warning level is currently set at yellow. The court currently has two vacancies out of their thirteen posts, constituting 15% of their seats. There is one pending appointment for the district.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of Massachusetts (click for larger map)

The jurisdiction of the District of Massachusetts consist of all the counties in the state of Massachusetts. The court's headquarters are in Boston, with courthouses in Springfield and Worcester. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown Boston at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse.

Cases heard

The District of Massachusetts has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

Case load

Federal Court Case Load Statistics*

Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases:	Median time(Criminal)**:	Median time(Civil)**:	3 Year Civil cases#:	Vacant posts:##	Trials/Post
2010	3300	3521	6821	3253	3568	16.6	8.6	166(5.5%)	12.0	15
2009	3549	3222	6771	3437	3334	16.1	10.3	151(5.4%)	6.6	17
2008	3968	3507	7475	3595	3880	17.0	8.6	197(6.6%)	0	20
2007	4567	3507	8074	3880	4194	19.3	8.4	179(5.6%)	0	18
2006	4810	3591	8401	3954	4447	18.4	9.0	577(15.3%)	0	18

*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September.    **Time in months from filing to completion. #This statistic includes cases which have been appealed in higher courts.    ##This is the total number of months that any all judicial posts had spent vacant that year.

Clerk's office

The District of Massachusetts has three separate courthouses. The Clerk's office is open Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Please consult the chart below for more information:

Branch	Address	Phone number	Hours
Boston Division	1 Courthouse Way Suite 2300 Boston, Massachusetts 02210	(617) 748-9152	8:30am - 5:00pm
Springfield Division	300 State Street Suite 120 Springfield, Massachusetts 01105	(413) 785-6800	8:00am - 4:30pm
Worcester Division	595 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts 01608	(508) 929-9900	8:30am - 5:00pm

History

Court history

The District of Massachusetts was established by Congress with one judicial post on September 24, 1789 and assigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eastern Circuit, and then was later reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1801. Over time, beginning in 1922 12 additional judicial posts were added for a total of 13 current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of Massachusetts:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73	1
September 14, 1922	42 Stat. 837	3(2 temporary)
August 19, 1935	49 Stat. 659	3(Temporary posts made permanent)
May 31, 1938	52 Stat. 584	4(1 temporary)
November 21, 1941	55 Stat. 773	4(Temporary post made permanent)
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	5
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	6
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	10
July 10, 1984	104 Stat. 5089	11(1 temporary)
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	13(Temporary post made permanent)

Notable cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions for the District of Massachusetts.

• Boston hybrid taxis  Judge(s):William G. Young      *Ophir v. City Of Boston Civil Action No. 09-10467-WGY

On December 11, 2009, Judge Young ruled in favor of the Boston Taxi Owners Association who sued the City of Boston over a new policy requiring taxi owners to switch to hybrids by 2015. The taxi owners sued on claims that they were bullied by the Boston Police's Hackney Carriage unit to buy the new hybrids. The judge found in his ruling that the new rules instituted by the Boston Police were in violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975.

• Adam Walsh Act case  Judge(s):Joseph Tauro      *U.S. v. Hunt Civil Action No. 07-12063-JLT

Judge Tauro on August 19, 2009, became only the second judge to invoke The Adam Walsh Act of 2006 in which allows judges to indefinitely hold child sex offenders in jail if deemed a public danger. The judge found Wayne Hunt of New York a danger after a five day proceeding that found the repeat offender to still be a public danger despite serving multiple prison sentences for sexual offenses. However, there could be a legal challenge to Judge Tauro's action from Hunt's attorneys over that the Adam Walsh Act may violate the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

• Eilzabeth Hasselbeck case  Judge(s):Joseph Tauro      *Hassett v. Hasselbeck et al 1:2009cv11063
Judge Tauro on November 16, 2009 dismissed a case against television personality Elizabeth Hasselbeck on charges of plagiarism. Hasselbeck was accused of taking content from a book on celiac disease written by Susan Hassett that Hasselbeck used in her book. The judge dismissed the case after the plantiff's attorneys felt they did not had enough evidence to continue their pursuit of the case.

• Boston Scientific recall  Judge(s):Douglas Woodlock      *Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System v. Boston Scientific Corporation Civil Action No. 05-11934-DPW

On April 28, 2010, Judge Woodlock threw out a class action lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System against Boston Scientific. The judge found that the State of Mississippi failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Taxus Express medical device recall was concealed by the manufacturer. Boston Scientific recalled the product after there were serious injuries and deaths related to the Taxus Express device.

• Mitt Romney case  Judge(s):Nancy Gertner      *Monahan v. Romney, et al No. 09-2458

Judge Gertner cleared former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in a wrongful termination case in which the former Chairman of the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission sued the former Governor. The judge ruled in favor of the former Governor saying that William Monahan, the former Civil Service Commission chairman, voluntarily resigned and forfeited his right to due process in his actions. This came after Romney testified in a April hearing that an aide approached Monahan to resign but offered him to help find another job.

• Fair use download case  Judge(s):Nancy Gertner      *Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum No. 10-1947

Judge Gertner presided in a highly publicized civil trial in which a Massachusetts college student was sued for illegal music downloading. . Capital Records sued Joel Tannenbaum over illegally downloading music on Kazaa, a music sharing program.. Tannenbaum was represented by Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, who has been critical of the major record companies unfairly targeting young people in lawsuits. On December 7, 2009, Judge Gertner signed off on a $675,000 jury verdict after a jury found Tannenbaum liable for illegal downloading.

• Salvatore DiMasi case  Judge(s):Mark Wolf      *USA v. DiMasi et al 1:09-cr-10166-MLW-1

Former Massaschusetts House of Representatives Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is facing trial over corruption charges of steering software contracts for personal gain. On March 24, 2010, Judge Wolf dismissed a motion from DiMasi's attorneys to dismiss the charges over a claim of evidence that should not have been placed in the grand jury indictment. However, Judge Wolf expressed concern that some of the evidence in the indictment could lead to a mistrial

• Prisoner sex change  Judge(s):Mark Wolf      *Kosilek v. Department of Corr, et al 1:2000-cv-12455

Michelle Kosilek has petitioned Judge Wolf to allow the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to grant a sex-change surgery funded by taxpayer expense. Kosilek sued in 2000 on grounds the State of Massachusetts violated her constitutional rights, while attorneys for the Massachusetts Attorney General feel the after-effects of the surgery could cause security problems. No decision has been made on whether to grant the surgery.

• John ID Pending Criminal Case  Judge(s):Mark Wolf      *USA v. Robinson USDC, MD Cr. Case No. 08-10309 -MLW

On July 17, 2009, federal probation officers asked Judge Wolf to intervene in the case of Michelle Robinson. Robinson, a former escort, pleaded guilty in February of 2009 on wire fraud charges. As part of her plea agreement, Robinson was on three years of supervised release. On May 1, 2009, Judge Wolf revoked her supervised release and ordered her to move into a halfway house. After moving into the halfway house, authorities raised questions of Robinson obtaining a loan to attend beauty school in Boston. Robinson's plea agreement prohibits her from obtaining any line of credit. Attorneys for Robinson have filed a motion to the judge to allow her to obtain a loan.

• Fish seller case  Judge(s):Douglas Woodlock

On July 20, 2009, Judge Woodlock ruled that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cannot shut down a fish seller with cases pending in court. NOAA wanted to impose a shutdown penalty on the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction over three different allegations of fishery law violations. Attorneys for NOAA argued for the immediate action over issues of timing and public perception. However, the judge ruled that NOAA's actions preceded the judicial process and ordered an injunction until further notice. NOAA has been under criticism in recent years for overstepping its investigative authority.

Federal courthouse

The District of Massachusetts is served by three federal courthouses.

Major news

For new stories and other related material see Massachusetts judicial news.

Cameras to be allowed in the courtroom

The court is set to participate in a three-year long pilot program that will see video recordings of civil trials in 14 different federal courts. Massachusetts already allows cameras into state courtrooms with special permission, but this will be a new experience for the federal court. Shooting is set to begin on October 17, 2011, with a few limitations; Criminal trials will not be recorded, the recording of civil cases must be agreed on by both parties and the judge, and only official court videos made by court personnel will be allowed. The videos will be available to the public on www.uscourts.gov.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Official Website
• Opinions of the District of Massachusetts
• Judges of the District of Massachusetts

References

District of Massachusetts First Circuit Chief: Mark Wolf Judges: 11 Posts: 13 Vacancies: 2 Active judges Casper • Gorton • O'Toole • Saris • Saylor • Stearns • Tauro • Woodlock • Young • Zobel Senior Judges Harrington • Ponsor Magistrate Judges Chief Magistrate: Kenneth Neiman Joyce Alexander • Marianne Bowler • Robert Collings • Timothy Hillman • Judith Dein • Leo Sorokin Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Active judges

Article III judges

See: Article III federal judge
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has 13 posts and 2 vacancies. The current Chief Judge is Mark Wolf. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Judge Joseph Tauro	1931	Winchester, MA	Nixon	10/17/1972 - Present	1992-1999	Francis Ford	Brown U., A.B., 1953	Cornell Law, LL.B., 1956
Judge Rya Zobel	1931	Zwickau, Germany	Carter	3/23/1979 - Present		New Seat|92 Stat. 1629	Radcliffe College, A.B., 1953	Harvard Law, LL.B., 1956
Judge William G. Young	1940	Huntington, NY	Reagan	4/4/1985 - Present	1999-2005	New Seat| 98 Stat. 333	Harvard U., A.B., 1962	Harvard Law, LL.B., 1967
Judge Douglas Woodlock	1947	Hartford, CT	Reagan	6/16/1986 - Present		Wendell Garrity	Yale U., B.A., 1969	Georgetown U., Law, J.D., 1975
Judge Nathaniel Gorton	1938	Evanston, IL	H.W. Bush	9/24/1992 - Present		New Seat|104 Stat. 5089	Dartmouth College, A.B., 1960	Columbia Law, LL.B., 1966
Judge Richard Stearns	1944	Los Angeles, CA	Clinton	11/24/1993 - Present		John McNaught	Stanford U., B.A., 1968	Harvard Law, J.D., 1976
Judge Patti Saris	1951	Boston, MA	Clinton	11/24/1993 - Present		Walter Skinner	Radcliffe College, B.A., 1973	Harvard Law, J.D., 1976
Judge George O'Toole	1947	Worcester, MA	Clinton	5/26/1995 (3/1/2001) - Present		Edward Harrington	Boston College, A.B., 1969	Harvard U. Law, J.D., 1972
Judge Dennis Saylor	1955	Royal Oak, MI	W. Bush	6/2/2004 - Present		Robert Keeton	Northwestern U., B.S., 1977	Harvard U. Law, J.D., 1981
Federal Judge Timothy Hillman	1948	Chicago, IL	Obama	4/4/2012 - Present		Nancy Gertner	Coe College, B.A., 1970	Suffolk U. Law, J.D., 1973
Judge Denise Casper	1968	East Patchogue, NY	Obama	12/20/2010 - Present		Reginald Lindsay	Wesleyan University, 1990	Harvard Law School, 1994

Pending appointments

There are no current pending appointments for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has 2 judges on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge Mark Wolf	Reagan	4/4/1985-1/1/2013	2006-2012	1/1/2013-present	Yale U., B.A., 1968	Harvard U. Law, J.D., 1971
Senior Judge Edward Harrington	Reagan	2/2/1988 - 3/1/2001		3/1/2001 - Present	College of the Holy Cross, A.B., 1955	Boston College Law School, J.D., 1960
Senior Judge Michael Ponsor	Clinton	4/14/1994 - 8/15/2011		8/15/2011 - Present	Harvard U., B.A., 1969	Yale Law, J.D., 1975

Magistrate judges

Judge	Active	Bachelors	Law
Magistrate Judge Kenneth Neiman	1/5/1995-Current	Tufts University (1967)	Harvard University Law School (1971)
Magistrate Judge Robert Collings	3/15/1982-Current	Hamilton College (1964)	Harvard Law School (1967)
Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler	5/7/1990-Current	Regis College (1967)	Suffolk Law School (1976)
Magistrate Judge Judith Dein	7/31/2000-Current	Union College (1976)	Boston College Law School (1979)
Chief Magistrate Judge Leo Sorokin	4/11/2005-Present	Yale College (1983)	Columbia Law School (1991)
Magistrate Judge Jerome Niedermeier	2010 - Present	Boston College, B.A., 1967	Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1972
Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal	2010-Current	Haverford College (1985)	Cornell Law School (1989)
Magistrate Judge David Hennessy	2013-present	State University of New York	Fordham University School of Law

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
Charles Wyzanski	1965-1971
Anthony Julian	1971-1972
Frank Freedman	1986-1992
Andrew Caffrey	1972-1986
George Clinton Sweeney	1948-1965
William G. Young	1999-2005
Joseph Tauro	1992-1999

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as Chief Judge. A vacancy in the office of Chief Judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The Chief Judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as Chief Judge. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

Former judges

Seat 1	Seat 2	Seat 3
Judge Term Wyzanski 12/19/1941 - 9/1/1971 Freedman 10/17/1972 - 1/1/1992 McLellan 2/10/1932 - 9/30/1941 Morton 1912-1932 Dodge 1905-1912 Lowell 1898-1905 Nelson 1/10/1879 - 11/21/1897 Lowell 1865 - 1879 Sprague 7/16/1841 - 3/13/1865 Davis 2/20/1801 - 7/10/1841 Lowell 9/26/1789 - 2/20/1801 Campbell 1971-1972 Ponsor 4/14/1994 - 8/15/2011	Judge Term McCarthy 2/2/1949 - 5/31/1960 Healey 12/19/1941 - 9/16/1948 Caffrey 10/13/1960 - 10/17/1986 Brewster 9/22/1922 - 10/14/1941 O'Toole 5/26/1995 (3/1/2001) - Present Harrington 2/2/1988 - 3/1/2001	Judge Term Murray 4/5/1967 - 7/15/1977 Mazzone 2/10/1978 - 6/3/1993 Sweeney 8/24/1935 - 9/30/1966 Lowell 9/22/1922 - 11/30/1933 Hillman 4/4/2012 - Present Gertner 2/14/1994 - 5/22/2011
Seat 4	Seat 5	Seat 6
Judge Term Ford 6/24/1938 - 7/1/1972 Tauro 10/17/1972 - Present	Judge Term Skinner 12/19/1973 - 9/14/1992 Julian 9/10/1959 - 8/1/1972 Aldrich 1954-1959 Saris 11/24/1993 - Present	Judge Term Garrity 6/24/1966 - 12/1/1985 Woodlock 6/16/1986 - Present
Seat 7	Seat 8	Seat 9
Judge Term Keeton 3/23/1979 - 2/28/2003 Saylor 6/2/2004 - Present	Judge Term McNaught 3/23/1979 - 2/1/1991 Stearns 11/24/1993 - Present	Judge Term Zobel 3/23/1979 - Present
Seat 10	Seat 11	Seat 12
Judge Term Casper 12/20/2010 - Present Nelson 3/23/1979 - 9/27/1991 Lindsay 11/24/1993 - 3/12/2009	Judge Term Young 4/4/1985 - Present	Judge Term Wolf 4/4/1985-1/1/2013
Seat 13
Judge Term Gorton 9/24/1992 - Present