Governor Baker Nominates Attorney Kathleen M. McCarthy to the Superior Court

Governor Baker Nominates Attorney Kathleen M. McCarthy to the Superior Court

BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker nominated Attorney Kathleen M. McCarthy of North Andover to the position of Associate Justice of the Superior Court. McCarthy has over three decades of state court experience; 20 years as a criminal defense attorney and ten years as a prosecutor.

“Attorney McCarthy’s trial experience and commitment to justice proven through her career as an Assistant District Attorney and a private criminal defense attorney will serve the Superior Court well,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “I am pleased to nominate her and to submit her name to the Governor’s Council for their advice and consent.”

“Attorney McCarthy will serve as an asset to the Superior Court bench,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “If confirmed, I am confident she will serve the people of the Commonwealth with distinction.”

The Massachusetts Superior Court is a statewide court of general jurisdiction - handling both criminal and civil actions. The court’s 82 justices sit in 20 courthouses in all 14 counties of the Commonwealth. The court has exclusive original jurisdiction of first degree murder cases and original jurisdiction of all other crimes.

For more information about the Superior Court, visit their homepage.

Judicial nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the Governor’s Council. Applicants for judicial openings are reviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) and recommended to the governor. Governor Baker established the JNC in February 2015 pursuant to Executive Order 558, a non-partisan, non-political Commission composed of volunteers from a cross-section of the Commonwealth's diverse population to screen judicial applications. Twenty-one members were later appointed to the JNC in April 2015.

About Kathleen M. McCarthy:

Attorney Kathleen M. McCarthy began her 31 year legal career in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney in 1988, managing a caseload in the Boston Municipal Court, Charlestown and East Boston District Courts. In 1989, she became a District Court Supervisor, managing Assistant District Attorneys and law students in the Charlestown and East Boston District Courts until 1991. In 1991, McCarthy served as a prosecutor in the Boston Municipal Court Jury Session and Dorchester District Court Session. McCarthy served as Prosecutor in the Suffolk Superior Court from 1992-1996. From 1996-1997, McCarthy was a Prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Homicide Unit, where she handled murder cases from grand jury presentations to disposition by trial or plea and supervised motor vehicle homicide prosecutions. In 1997, Attorney McCarthy was recognized by the Boston Benevolent Society for outstanding service to the Detectives of the City of Boston. In 1997, McCarthy opened her own private practice in North Andover where she practices post-conviction and appellate law and criminal defense. Attorney McCarthy earned her B.A. cum laude from Boston College in 1984 and her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1987.