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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 12, 2009
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Superior
Court to Hold Statewide Symposium on September
22
in Celebration of 150 Years of the Rule of Law
Commemorative Dinner Hosted by Supreme Judicial Court Historical
Society
and the Massachusetts Bar Association
The
Massachusetts Superior Court will hold a statewide
symposium featuring many distinguished judges, lawyers,
and university professors who will speak on Tuesday,
September 22, 2009, from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the Rabb
Auditorium of the Boston Public Library in celebration
of 150 years of the rule of law in Massachusetts. The
three-part event, which is open to the public and is
free of charge, will include moderator Tom Ashbrook,
host of National Public Radio's On Point program.
Superior
Court Chief Justice Barbara J. Rouse will begin the program
by describing the origin of the Massachusetts Superior
Court in 1859. A panel discussion, entitled "Looking
Back: Notable Cases in the Court's History," will be
moderated by Stephen Burbank, David Berger Professor
for the Administration of Justice at the University of
Pennsylvania Law School. This panel will focus on high
profile criminal cases and issues involving free press
and fair trials, education and civil rights, and government
entities, including "Big Dan's," the Hancock public school
funding case, and the Boston Harbor case.
Panelists
are Mary Bonauto, Esq., Superior Court Judge Barbara
A. Dortch-Okara, former Supreme Judicial Court Justice
John M. Greaney, former Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger,
Harry Spence, Professor of Practice, Harvard Graduate
School of Education and Kennedy School of Government,
and U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young.
A
third segment, "The Future: Challenges for the Next 150
Years," will feature a discussion focusing on three interrelated
themes: judicial independence, the vanishing jury trial,
and the impact of technology and changing demographics
on court proceedings. Moderated by Tom Ashbrook, this
panel includes Superior Court Judge Judith Fabricant,
Joan Lukey, Esq., Appeals Court Justice James F. McHugh,
and Professor Charles Ogletree, Jesse Climenko Professor
of Law at Harvard University and Director of the Charles
Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.
Following
the symposium, a commemorative reception and dinner hosted
by the Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society and
the Massachusetts Bar Association will be held in the
Fairmont Copley Hotel, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Highlighting
the event will be the keynote speaker, the Honorable
Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States. For ticket information to attend
the commemorative dinner, please contact the Supreme
Judicial Court Historical Society, in care of Cassandra
Semenza at 617-204-4230.
To
mark the 150th anniversary of the Massachusetts Superior
Court in 2009, educational programs and events, such
as mock trials, reenactments of famous trials, open houses,
and historic tours, have been held for adults, students,
and children in counties across the state. The Massachusetts
Bar Foundation and judges of the Superior Court have
provided funding for the yearlong program. Technical
assistance and support are being provided by the Social
Law Library and the Supreme Judicial Court Historical
Society.
Established
in 1859, the Massachusetts Superior Court has 82 authorized
judges sitting in 14 counties of the state. It is one
of the oldest common law trial courts of general jurisdiction
in the country.
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