Press Release  Supreme Judicial Court Appoints New Reporter of Decisions

BOSTON, MA — The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court today announced that they have appointed Madchen (Maddie) S. Makara, Esq., as the new Reporter of Decisions for the Supreme Judicial Court, effective January 28, 2024. Attorney Makara will succeed Brian H. Redmond, Esq., who will retire as Reporter of Decisions in January.

The Reporter of Decisions provides editorial support for the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court, publishes slip opinions daily in electronic format, and administers a contract for the publication of eBook advance sheets and permanent bound volumes of the official reports of the two courts. The Reporter also directs the posting and maintenance of content on the Reporter of Decisions webpages on the court’s website, and on social media.

Attorney Makara joined the office of the Reporter of Decisions in February 2012, as a Legal Publishing Specialist, and then was promoted in October 2012 to Associate Deputy Reporter of Decisions. Prior to joining the Reporter's office, Attorney Makara practiced employment law at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, and also edited treatises on federal and state wage and hour law for the American Bar Association and Bloomberg BNA Books. She also previously served for sixteen years in the United States Marine Corps and Massachusetts Air National Guard as a musician, performing for military and civilian communities throughout the eastern United States. A native of Webster, Attorney Makara is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Suffolk University Law School. She is admitted to practice in state and federal court in Massachusetts and lives in Charlton.

Attorney Makara will serve as the 19th Reporter of Decisions. The office of the Reporter of Decisions was established in 1804. Today, the authority and duties of the Reporter of Decisions are governed by G. L. c. 221, §§ 63-68, and G. L. c. 211A, § 9. 

The advance sheets published by the Reporter's office in Massachusetts are the most timely in the nation, with all cases released each Thursday through Wednesday available to subscribers the following Friday. To date, the Reporter has published 490 bound volumes of Massachusetts Reports and 100 bound volumes of Massachusetts Appeals Court Reports.

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