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Kimberly Budd, center, greets Supreme Judicial Court Justice Robert Cordy. Budd was announced as one of Gov. Charlie Baker's three pending nominees to the high court. To Budd's left is Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.
(Gintautas Dumcius/MassLive.com)
BOSTON -- The Governor's Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to confirm Superior Court Justice Kimberly Budd to become an associate justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
"She's eminently qualified, she's going to be a great addition to the Supreme Judicial Court," said Governor's Councilor Michael Albano of Longmeadow. "I expect and know there's going to be great decisions rendered by Judge Budd."
Budd's nomination was the subject of some controversy after state Rep. Shaunna O'Connell, R-Taunton, said Budd's "statements on the law should put her nomination in jeopardy." O'Connell was referring to comments Budd made during her confirmation hearing last week relating to the sex offender registry and driver's licenses for immigrants in the country illegally.
The councilors, including Jennie Caissie of Oxford, the lone Republican on the council, slammed O'Connell for her remarks.
"I think it is very unfortunate that there are some that will play political patty-cake and take answers out of context to benefit from the 24-hour news cycle," Caissie said.
Caissie said O'Connell did not attend Budd's confirmation hearing and "obviously didn't do her homework."
"(Budd) has been a law-and-order judge on the Superior Court, and she will continue to be a law-and-order judge on the Massachusetts Supreme Court," Caissie said.
After the vote, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, said in a statement, "Judge Kimberly Budd's qualifications, temperament and confirmation today will ensure the Supreme Judicial Court is at full strength when they return for their first sitting in September."
Budd was the third of Baker's nominees to the state's highest court to be confirmed by the Governor's Council. The first two were judges Frank Gaziano and David Lowy.
Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, in a statement, called Budd "an exceptional addition to the commonwealth's Supreme Judicial Court, defined by a career of extensive legal experience, integrity and impartiality for those who have and will come before her."
Budd, who lives in Newton, has roots in Springfield. Her grandfather was Springfield's first black police officer, her aunt was assistant superintendent at Springfield public schools and her father, Wayne Budd of Springfield, was a former U.S. attorney.
"It's one of the great public service families in America today," Albano said.
Former Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Budd in 2009 as an associate justice in the Massachusetts Superior Court. Budd was appointed in January as regional administrative justice for Middlesex County criminal business, which means she oversees the management and administration of criminal cases that come before Middlesex County Superior Court.
She previously worked in private practice; as an assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting major crimes; as an attorney for Harvard University, where she dealt with labor and academic issues; and as director of the community values program at Harvard Business School, which teaches business students values and ethics and investigates complaints.
She was also an adjunct instructor at New England School of Law. In 1991, she clerked for Massachusetts Appeals Court Chief Justice Joseph Warner.
Budd graduated from Georgetown University and Harvard Law School.
She was a member of Patrick's task force on ethics in 2008 and 2009 and was on the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission, which vets potential judges, between 2003 and 2005. She has served on the executive committee of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and is a member of several organizations of black professionals.
Budd is currently on an advisory committee on trial court race and bias, which focuses on finding ways to combat unconscious racial bias in the court system. She volunteers for a Middlesex Superior Court program where probationers read and discuss literature with professors and judges.
Budd is 49, so she can serve on the court for up to 21 years before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
The only political contribution Budd or her family members have made over the past three years were two $100 contributions that her husband, William Thompson, gave to Newton Mayor Setti Warren, a Democrat, according to a questionnaire Budd submitted to the Governor's Council.
At her confirmation hearing, Budd said she does not see a constitutional reason why immigrants without legal status should not get driver's licenses. According to the State House News Service, under questioning by Governor's Councilor Robert Jubinville, Budd also said she thinks there are too many crimes included in the Sex Offender Registry, so there are some people on the registry who do not need to be listed.
O'Connell, on her website, called Budd's statements that there are too many people on the Sex Offender Registry "reckless and dangerous." O'Connell also criticized Budd's comments on driver's licenses.
Jubinville, of Milton, said O'Connell "misconstrued" Budd's response to his question, which related to whether a 16-year-old convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a 15-year-old he is dating belongs on the sex offender registry. "The representative got it wrong and misconstrued what she said about the sex registry," Jubinville said.
Governor's Councilor Marilyn Devaney, of Watertown, called it "unfortunate" that O'Connell had not called her or other councilors before going to the media. "It's unfair to a person to demean them and misrepresent what actually happened," Devaney said.
Albano, who is running for Hampden County sheriff, said O'Connell's comments relate to her own political ideology. "In Rep. O'Connell's world, a woman would not be able to chose, there would be no marriage equality, and there would be no affirmative action in Massachusetts," Albano said. "That's what elections are all about. That's what judicial philosophy is all about."