Chief Justice
Margaret H. Marshall Appoints New Member
to Jury Management Advisory Committee
Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall recently
appointed the Honorable Kathleen E. Coffey to the Jury
Management Advisory Committee. Judge Coffey is the First
Justice of the West Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal
Court. She fills the position on the Committee formerly
held by Boston Municipal Court Judge Michael F. Flaherty,
who recently retired. The term, effective immediately,
expires on May 1, 2007.
The
Jury Management Advisory Committee consists of six justices
appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial
Court, according to G.L.c. 234A, §6, and is charged
with assisting the Chief Justice in supervising the Office
of Jury Commissioner.
Before
being appointed to the bench in 1993, Judge Coffey was
in private practice for eight years. Previously, she served
as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County from
1979 to 1983. She taught at Suffolk University Law School
as a visiting professor from 1983 to 1984 and from 1988
to 1989, and as a member of the adjunct faculty in 1984.
Judge
Coffey currently heads the Mental Health Committee in the
Boston Municipal Court Department. In 1998, she created
a community advisory task force, the Reinventing Justice
Committee, for the West Roxbury court. This group continues
to initiate strategies and programs to enhance the court’s
accessibility and responsiveness to the community. Programs
include an information kiosk staffed by volunteers; the “Straight
Ahead Program,” a value-based educational project
for fifth and sixth grade students; and workshops for senior
citizens and parents about identity theft and Internet
safety.
Judge
Coffey received her J. D. degree from Boston College Law
School, and her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Newton
College of the Sacred Heart.
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