The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court recently announced the appointments of Middlesex Juvenile Court First Justice Gail Garinger, Framingham District Court First Justice Robert V. Greco, and Nantucket Probate and Family Court First Justice Randy J. Kaplan to the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee, effective immediately.

          The Justices reappointed Southeast Housing Court First Justice Anne Kenney Chaplin and Land Court Judge Leon J. Lombardi to the Committee. All appointments are for two-year terms, ending on March 1, 2008.

          The new judges appointed to the Committee fill the positions previously held by Hampden Probate and Family Court First Justice David M. Fuller, Worcester District Court First Justice Paul F. LoConto, and Worcester County Juvenile Court Judge Luis G. Perez, whose terms recently expired.

          Established in 2001 by the Supreme Judicial Court, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee oversees the implementation of the judicial performance program in the Trial Court. Judges’ work performance in areas such as demeanor, legal knowledge, courtroom management, and timeliness of decisions is assessed by attorneys, jurors, and court employees through written questionnaires. The Chief Justices of the Trial Court departments review the results with the judges from their departments. Superior Court Judge Janet L. Sanders is the Committee’s chairperson.

          Judge Garinger was in private practice for twenty-two years prior to her appointment to the bench in 1995. She worked for three years at the Boston law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar and at the firm of Powers & Hall for three years. From 1973 to 1979, she served as General Counsel for Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and she was a Trial Attorney for the Massachusetts Defenders Committee in 1973. In 1985, Judge Garinger was a member of the adjunct faculty of the New England School of Law. She served on the Supreme Judicial Court’s Commission on Juvenile Justice and the Supreme Judicial Court’s Judiciary/Media Steering Committee. Judge Garinger earned a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and an undergraduate degree from Indiana University.

          Before becoming a member of the bench in 1985, Judge Greco was Executive Director and General Counsel of the State Ethics Commission. From 1974 to 1980, he served in the Criminal Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office. Previously, he was with the Massachusetts Defenders Committee for three years. Judge Greco taught on the adjunct faculty of the New England School of Law and Boston University Law School, and served as chairperson of the Committee on Judicial Ethics. He received a J.D. degree from Boston College Law School and an A.B. degree from Princeton University.

          Judge Kaplan was appointed to the bench in 2001. Previously, she was a partner in the law firm of Deutsch Williams Brooks DeRensis Holland & Drachman for five years. From 1991 to 1996, she was a partner at Burns & Levinson, and she was an associate with LoDolce & Epstein from 1983 to 1991. She holds a J.D. degree from New England School of Law and a B.S.degree from Skidmore College.

          Before her appointment to the bench in 2000, Judge Chaplin practiced law for twenty-two years. She was a partner at the Boston law firm of Chaplin & Chaplin, and she also worked at the law firms of McCullough, Stievater & Polvere; Katz & Associates; LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae; and Lappin, Rosen, Goldberg, Slavet, Levensen & Wekstein. She began her legal career at the law firm of Chaplin, Casner & Edwards in 1978. Judge Chaplin received her J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College.

          Judge Lombardi was appointed to the Land Court in 1995. Prior to his appointment, he was a partner in the law firm of Warner & Stackpole. From 1977 to 1983, he served as a legislator in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Upon graduating from law school, he was an associate in the Law Offices of Robert I. Kalis for four years. He served on the Supreme Judicial Court Task Force on Judicial Branch Education and the Judicial Institute’s New Judges’ Education Committee. Judge Lombardi holds a J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. degree from Tufts University.