Grant M. Palmer

(1951-1973)

A special sitting of the Supreme Judicial Court was held at Boston on January 9, 1974, on the occasion of the retirement of Grant M. Palmer, Jr., as Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court.

Present: Chief Justice Tauro, and Justices Reardon, Quirico, Braucher, Hennessey, Kaplan, and Wilkins.

The Chief Justice said:

On behalf of the Court, I announce that Mr. Grant M. Palmer, Jr., retired as Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court as of December 31, 1973.

Mr. Palmer has rendered distinguished service to the Supreme Judicial Court as Reporter of Decisions since October 1, 1951, and to the Appeals Court since August 16, 1972. Prior to 1951 he served for many years as Deputy Reporter for the Supreme Judicial Court. During this long period, he has worked on or supervised the publication in final form of 103 volumes of the Massachusetts Reports. His efforts, which stretched over the terms of five Chief Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court and one Chief Justice of the Appeals Court, have aided significantly in the compilation and recording of this Commonwealth's jurisprudence.

The Chief Justices during Mr. Palmer's service with the courts have been Chief Justice Arthur P. Rugg, Chief Justice Fred T. Field, Chief Justice Stanley E. Qua, Chief Justice Raymond S. Wilkins, Chief Justice G. Joseph Tauro of the Supreme Judicial Court and Chief Justice Allan M. Hale of the Appeals Court.

We, who have enjoyed the benefits of his personal consultation and have come to appreciate in him the rare combination of legal scholarship and meticulous attention to detail, wish for him many years of health and happiness in the leisure he has well earned.

We wish to announce at this time that Thomas B. Merritt has been appointed to succeed Mr. Palmer as Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court. These remarks are to be published in the official reports of this Court.