Governor Healey Nominates Craig Mulcahey to the District Court and LaKeshia Parker Small to the Juvenile Court

 Governor Healey Nominates Craig Mulcahey to the District Court and LaKeshia Parker Small to the Juvenile Court 

BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura Healey nominated Craig Mulcahey to serve as an Associate Justice of the District Court and LaKeshia Parker Small to serve as an Associate Justice of the Juvenile Court. The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation. 

"Both Attorney Mulcahey and Attorney Parker Small have the experience and legal knowledge to excel on the bench here in Massachusetts, and if confirmed, I am confident they will serve with integrity, fairness and a commitment to protecting our communities,” said Governor Maura Healey. 

“I am excited to work with the Governor’s Council to advance both of these nominees, who are well prepared to serve as Judges,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.   

The District Court Department hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases. District Court criminal jurisdiction extends to all felonies punishable by a sentence up to five years, and many other specific felonies with greater potential penalties, all misdemeanors, and all violations of city and town ordinances and by-laws. In civil matters, the District Court hears cases in which the damages are not likely to be more than $50,000 and small claims cases up to $7,000. The District Court is located in 62 courts across the state. 

Governor Healey has already nominated 29 attorneys to the District Court: Heath Antonio,   Patrick Burke, Tonomey Coleman, Lisa Core, Frederick DeCubellis, Frances Dallmeyer, Brian Doxtader, Leo Fama, Mark Fabiano, Lauren Greene,  Stuart Hurowitz, Edward Karcasinas , Francis V. Kenneally, Sarah Kennedy, Edward Jr. Krippendorf, Cara Krysil, Courtney C. Linnehan, Hilary McCamic, Suzanne McDonough, Becky Michaels, Jerry Parisella, Polly Phillips, William Powers, Joanna Rodriguez, Gegory Teran, Marjorie P. Tynes, Amanda Ward, Liza Williamson and Hector Zumbado.  

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

The mission of the Juvenile Court is to protect children from abuse and neglect, to promote opportunities for children to reside in safe, stable, permanent family environments, to strengthen families, to rehabilitate juveniles, and to protect the public from delinquent and criminal behavior. The Juvenile Court Department has jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters including delinquencies, youthful offender cases, care and protection matters and children requiring assistance cases. It has 42 judges, including the Chief Justice, sitting in over 40 courthouses.  

For more information about the Juvenile Court, visit its homepage. Governor Healey has previously nominated 11 judges to the Juvenile Court: Jamie Bennett, Jennifer Currie, Andrew Don, Tiffanie Ellis-Niles, Nibal Raheb, Andrew Hoffman, Audrey Murillo, Jeannie Rhinehart, Benjamin Mann, Fabiola White and Karin Wilinski to the Juvenile Court. 

 

About the Nominees: 

 

Craig Mulcahey has been a solo practitioner since 2010, focused on criminal defense and civil litigation. He has tried more than 70 cases to verdict and has practiced extensively in both the District and Superior Courts. Before moving exclusively to solo practice, Attorney Mulcahey worked at the Law Office of Michael Doolin where he litigated criminal and civil matters in the District and Superior Courts and handled post-conviction work in the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Attorney Mulcahey has accepted court-appointed work as a Bar Advocate through Suffolk Lawyers for Justice since 2010. From 2004 – 2006 he also served as a Residential Child Care Worker at the Walker Home and School, where he helped provide enrichment activities, life skills training, and residential supervision to children with mental health challenges and learning differences. Prior to entering private practice as an attorney, Attorney Mulcahey served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office where he prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases in both the District and Superior Courts.  He began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney at the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School  
 

LaKeshia Parker Small has, since 2024 served as an Assistant Clerk Magistrate in the Norfolk Juvenile Court, where she is responsible for conducting probable cause hearings, reviewing applications for complaints and warrants, processing petitions for sealing and expungement, assisting attorneys and litigants with administrative issues, and other magisterial duties.  From 2022-2024, Attorney Parker Small worked in private practice where she represented and advised clients in matters pertaining to family law, domestic relations, and criminal law and also provided case management services for families involved with the Department of Children and Families. From 2012 to 2022 she served as Assistant Regional Counsel at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, where she litigated child welfare cases on behalf of the Commonwealth and drafted, filed, and argued motions throughout the Juvenile Courts. She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in 2008, where she prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases in the District, Superior, and Juvenile Courts.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law and resides in Pembroke