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The Governor's Council on Wednesday unanimously confirmed Judge David Lowy to the state's highest court. [Photo: Antonio Caban/SHNS]
By Colin A. Young
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JULY 27, 2016.....David Lowy, a Superior Court judge and law school professor with close ties to Gov. Charlie Baker and others in state government, will soon don a black robe as the newest justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.
The Governor's Council, which held an eight-hour confirmation hearing for Lowy last week, voted unanimously on Wednesday to confirm him to the state's high court. He was one of Baker's two pending nominees to the SJC. The council recently confirmed Superior Court Justice Frank Gaziano for a seat on the top court.
"An exceptional candidate, a judge's judge, the go-to guy. For any judge in the commonwealth that I talked to that needed a tidbit of advice, he's the guy that everyone went to," Councilor Joseph Ferreira of Somerset said. "He's brilliant, he teaches all the judges evidence. Congratulations, he's going to be a great addition to our Supreme Judicial Court."
Lowy worked with Baker in the administration of former Gov. William Weld as deputy legal counsel before Weld put him on the district court bench in 1997. The late Gov. Paul Cellucci elevated Lowy to the Superior Court in 2001. Lowy's wife, Virginia Buckingham, also worked for Weld as chief of staff and campaign manager for Weld's 1996 U.S. Senate race against John Kerry before running the Massachusetts Port Authority.
"Judge David Lowy is a highly experienced and dedicated jurist and I am confident that he will serve the Commonwealth's Supreme Judicial Court and all that comes before it with fair and impartial justice," Baker said in a statement.
Among those present for the vote to confirm Lowy was SJC Justice Robert Cordy, whom Lowy would replace on the high court. At his confirmation hearing, Cordy said he could not "think of a finer or more prepared person for the position of associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts" than Lowy.
Councilor Jennie Caissie of Oxford, the lone Republican on the council, praised Lowy for his respect for "lawful gun owners and Second Amendment rights, which is apparently not a view held by some of our elected officials here in the commonwealth."
"He is an extraordinary legal mind, but he is also practical and understands the importance of public safety and the separation of powers that make our democracy run," she said. "And very importantly, he said during his hearing that he would not have denied Tom Brady's appeal."
The eight-member elected council has now confirmed two of the three nominees Baker has sought to put on the SJC this summer to fill vacancies caused by retirements before the court picks up again in September. The council is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for the third Baker nominee, Kimberly Budd, on Aug. 3.
SJC Chief Justice Ralph Gants has expressed the importance of having the new justices seated on the bench before the court opens a new session and begins to hear cases again in the fall.