Judicial selection
Massachusetts Constitution, Part the Second, Chapter II, Section I, Article IX
The Governor nominates and appoints all judicial officers by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council.
Judicial Nominating Commission
The Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) screens judicial candidates. The JNC is a non-partisan and non-political commission composed of 27 distinguished volunteers appointed by the Governor from a cross-section of the Commonwealth's diverse population.
McCarthy v. Governor, 471 Mass. 1008 (2015)
First, the Governor nominates a judicial candidate. Then, if the Executive Council approves the nomination, the Governor must decide whether to appoint the judicial candidate.
Executive Order No. 610 (2023)
Establishes the qualifications and Codes of Conduct for Judicial Nominating Commission Members, and Applicants and Nominees for judicial office. Describes the process for candidates to apply to judicial office, and for the Commission to review applications.
Judicial conduct
Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:09: Code of Judicial Conduct
"Establishes standards for the ethical conduct of judges."
Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct
The Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC) is established by MGL c. 211C. It investigates complaints alleging that a state court judge has engaged in judicial misconduct or has a disability preventing him or her from properly performing judicial duties. The CJC also pursues, when it is appropriate, remedial action or discipline against state court judges. Their site includes information on filing a complaint about a judge. The CJC’s procedures are governed by the Rules of the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Massachusetts Constitution, Part the Second, Chapter III, Article I as amended
Judges must retire by age seventy (70).
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Committee on Judicial Ethics
The Committee on Judicial Ethics is established by Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:11. It is a source of advice for judges, and organizations and associations of judges or lawyers, concerning the requirements of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:09. Its Judicial Ethics Opinions can be accessed online through the Chronological index or the Subject index.
Guidance
Babaletos v. Demoulas Super Markets, Inc., 493 Mass. 460 (2024)
The case appendix guides trial judges on how best to impose time limits in complex civil trials.
Massachusetts judicial ethics FAQs, Mass. Supreme Judicial Court.
These clarify sections of the judicial code and include answers to requests for formal and informal advice. They are organized alphabetically by topic.
Federal
Code of Conduct for United States Judges
Includes the ethical canons that apply to federal judges and provides guidance on their performance of official duties and engagement in a variety of outside activities.
Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States (November 2023)
Sets out the ethics rules and principles that the U.S. Supreme Court has long regarded as governing their conduct.
Judicial conduct & disability
Anyone can file a complaint alleging a federal judge has committed misconduct or has a disability.
Judicial directories
Judicial profiles
Court Listener
The database has information about thousands of judges from federal and state courts, including their biographical and educational background, judicial and non-judicial positions held, political affiliations, American Bar Association ratings, campaign finance data, and opinions authored.
The Federal Lawyer, Federal Bar Association
The database has judicial profiles of federal judges with narratives addressing personal topics such as the judges’ reasons for becoming lawyers, their commitment to justice, and how they have mentored lawyers and law clerks, among other things.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Judicial Profiles
The database has information about Massachusetts state and federal judges, including their judicial biography, background, professional history, civic & community activities, reported decisions, articles about/quoting the judge, and evaluations & comments from lawyers.
Web sources
Center for Judicial Ethics, National Center for State Courts.
A clearinghouse for information about judicial ethics and discipline. It publishes the Judicial Conduct Reporter, a quarterly publication that summarizes recent decisions and advisory opinions, reports developments in judicial discipline, and includes articles on judicial ethics and discipline procedure topics.
A guide to the Massachusetts judicial selection process: The making of a judge, 3rd ed., Massachusetts Bar Association (2015).
Details the judicial selection process including measures to reduce political influence.
How a judge is selected in Massachusetts, Massachusetts Law Updates, Official Blog of the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries, August 21, 2018.
Provides an excellent description of the process of appointing and removing judges in Massachusetts.
An introduction to artificial intelligence for federal judges, Federal Judicial Center.
Answers the four questions every judge should ask about AI.
Learn more about the judicial nominating process, Massachusetts Governor’s Office.
Describes how one applies to become a judge, and how they are nominated and confirmed.
Print sources
Appellate practice and procedure, 4th edition, (Massachusetts Practice, vol. 41-41A) West, 2020 with supplement.
Sections 13:37 and 79:1 - Recusal or disqualification of a judge.
Disrobed: An inside look at the life and work of a federal trial judge, by Frederic Block, West, 2012.
Excellent judges, Flaschner Judicial Institute, 1997.
Written by Edward F. Hennessey, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts.
Her honor: Stories of challenge and triumph from women judges, ABA, 2023. (eBook available with library card)
How to become a judge or clerk magistrate, MCLE, 2024.
Judges in street clothes: Acting ethically off-the-bench, by Raymond J. McKoski, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2017.
Overview of regulations on the extrajudicial activities of judges.
Judicial disqualification: Recusal and disqualification of judges, 3rd ed., Banks and Jordan Law Publ. Co., 2017 with supplement.
Recusal and disqualification of judges: For cause motions, peremptory challenges and appeals, Banks and Jordan Law Publ. Co., 2018 with supplement.
Contact
Online
| Last updated: | January 16, 2026 |
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