Timeline guide
These listings provide the order of succession for each seat on the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) bench since 1801. Seat numbers have been provided to help you follow the timeline; the numbers are not part of the official titles.
| Supreme Judicial Court Bench | Added in 1852 | Added in 1873 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | Associate Justice (Seat 1) | Associate Justice (Seat 2) | Associate Justice (Seat 3) | Associate Justice (Seat 4) | Associate Justice (Seat 5) | Associate Justice (Seat 6) |
The years a Justice served in a seat are listed before each Justice's name. However, some Justices served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice, or served years nonconsecutively, so the years noted for each seat may not reflect the total years that Justice was on the bench.
Upon the appointment of Justice Caleb Cushing in 1852, the Court had six Justices. Upon the appointment of Justice William Endicott in 1873, the Court had seven Justices. The current SJC bench consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.
Chief Justices
- (1791-1806) Francis Dana
- (1806-1813) Theophilus Parsons
- (1814) Samuel Sewall*
- (1814-1830) Isaac Parker*
- (1830-1860) Lemuel Shaw
- (1860-1868) George Tyler Bigelow*
- (1868-1873) Reuben Atwater Chapman*
- (1873-1882) Horace Gray, Jr.*
- (1882-1890) Marcus Morton*
- (1890-1899) Walbridge A. Field*
- (1899-1902) Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.*
- (1902-1911) Marcus Perrin Knowlton*
- (1911-1938) Arthur Prentice Rugg*
- (1938-1947) Fred Tarbell Field*
- (1947-1956) Stanley Elroy Qua*
- (1956-1970) Raymond Sanger Wilkins*
- (1970-1976) G. Joseph Tauro
- (1976-1989) Edward F. Hennessey*
- (1989-1996) Paul J. Liacos*
- (1996-1999) Herbert P. Wilkins*
- (1999-2010) Margaret H. Marshall*
- (2010-2014) Roderick L. Ireland*
- (2014-2020) Ralph D. Gants*
- (2020-present) Kimberly S. Budd*
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
Associate Justices (seat one)
- (1801-1805) Simeon Strong
- (1806-1814) Isaac Parker*
- (1814-1842) Samuel Putnam
- (1842-1847) Samuel Hubbard
- (1848) Charles Forbes
- (1848-1853) Richard Fletcher
- (1853-1859) Benjamin Franklin Thomas
- (1859-1869) Ebenezer R. Hoar
- (1869-1882) Marcus Morton*
- (1882-1898) Charles Allen
- (1898-1914) John Wilkes Hammond
- (1914-1937) Edward Peter Pierce
- (1937-1944) Louis Sherburne Cox
- (1944-1956) Raymond Sanger Wilkins*
- (1956-1972) Richard Ammi Cutter
- (1972-1981) Benjamin Kaplan
- (1981-2000) Neil L. Lynch
- (2000-2007) Martha Browning Sosman
- (2007-2017) Margo Botsford
- (2017-2024) Elspeth B. Cypher
- (2024-present) Elizabeth N. Dewar
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
Associate Justices (seat two)
- (1792-1802) Thomas Dawes
- (1802-1813) Theodore Sedgwick
- (1813-1823) Charles Jackson
- (1823-1837) Vacant
- (1837-1866) Charles Dewey
- (1866-1875) John Wells
- (1875-1882) Otis P. Lord
- (1882-1899) Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.*
- (1899-1919) William Caleb Loring
- (1919-1923) Charles Francis Jenney
- (1923-1934) William Cushing Wait
- (1934-1947) Stanley Elroy Qua*
- (1947-1962) Harold Putnam Williams
- (1962-1977) Paul Cashman Reardon
- (1977-2001) Ruth I. Abrams
- (2001-2016) Robert J. Cordy
- (2016-2024) David A. Lowy
- (2024-present) Gabrielle R. Wolohojian
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
Associate Justices (seat three)
- (1800-1814) Samuel Sewall*
- (1814-1815) Daniel Dewey
- (1815-1850) Samuel Sumner Wilde
- (1850-1860) George Tyler Bigelow*
- (1860-1868) Reuben Atwater Chapman*
- (1868-1881) James D. Colt
- (1881-1891) William Allen
- (1891-1905) James Madison Barker
- (1905-1915) Henry Newton Sheldon
- (1915-1932) James Bernard Carroll
- (1932-1944) Charles Henry Donahue
- (1944-1971) John Varnum Spalding
- (1971-1976) Edward F. Hennessey*
- (1976-1989) Paul J. Liacos*
- (1989-2008) John M. Greaney
- (2009-2014) Ralph D. Gants*
- (2014-2017) Geraldine S. Hines
- (2017-present) Scott L. Kafker
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
Associate Justices (seat four)
- (1801-1824) George Thatcher
- (1824-1825) Levi Lincoln
- (1825-1840) Marcus Morton*
- (1840-1848) Vacant
- (1848-1865) Theron Metcalf
- (1865-1866) James D. Colt
- (1866-1869) Dwight Foster
- (1869-1881) Seth Ames
- (1881-1890) Walbridge A. Field*
- (1890-1913) James Madison Morton
- (1913-1937) John Crawford Crosby
- (1937-1949) Arthur Walter Dolan
- (1949-1960) Edward Augustine Counihan, Jr.
- (1960-1972) Jacob J. Spiegel
- (1972-1996) Herbert Wilkins*
- (1996-1999) Margaret H. Marshall*
- (1999-2016) Francis X. Spina
- (2016-present) Frank M. Gaziano
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
Associate Justices (seat five)
This seat was added to the bench in 1852.
- (1852-1853) Caleb Cushing
- (1853-1864) Pliny Merrick
- (1864-1873) Horace Gray, Jr.*
- (1873-1877) Charles Devens
- (1877-1881) Augustus Lord Soule
- (1881-1891) Charles Devens
- (1891-1906) John Lathrop
- (1906-1911) Arthur Prentice Rugg*
- (1911-1924) Charles Ambrose DeCourcy
- (1924-1932) George Augustus Sanderson
- (1932-1955) Henry Tilton Lummus
- (1955-1969) Arthur Easterbrook Whittemore
- (1969-1981) Francis J. Quirico
- (1981-1995) Joseph R. Nolan
- (1995-1999) Charles Fried
- (1999-2011) Judith A. Cowin
- (2011-2020) Barbara A. Lenk
- (2020-present) Serge Georges, Jr.
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
Associate Justices (seat six)
This seat was added to the bench in 1873.
- (1873-1882) William Crowinshield Endicott
- (1882-1885) Waldo Colburn
- (1885-1887) William Sewall Gardner
- (1887-1902) Marcus Perrin Knowlton*
- (1902-1929) Henry King Braley
- (1929-1938) Fred Tarbell Field*
- (1938-1959) James Joseph Ronan
- (1960-1970) Paul Grattan Kirk
- (1971-1981) Robert Braucher
- (1981-1997) Francis P. O'Connor
- (1997-2010) Roderick L. Ireland*
- (2011-2016) Fernande R.V. Duffly
- (2016-2020) Kimberly S. Budd*
- (2020-present) Dalilah Argaez Wendlandt
*Justice served as both Associate Justice and Chief Justice
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| Last updated: | December 20, 2024 |
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