BOSTON – Thursday, July 26, 2007 – Governor Deval Patrick announced today that he has nominated Superior Court Judge Margot Botsford, 60, to the Supreme Judicial Court.
Botsford, a highly regarded 18-year veteran of the Superior Court, most recently received notice for her meticulous and scholarly work in the school finance case, Hancock v. Driscoll. She is being nominated to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Martha B. Sosman in March.
“Judge Botsford’s brilliance as a jurist on the Superior Court and as a prosecutor and a litigator of civil matters, combined with her deep empathy for people, make her an ideal choice to serve on the SJC,” said Governor Patrick. “The SJC is the oldest appellate court in continuous existence in the Western Hemisphere, with a long tradition of excellence. Judge Botsford ably upholds that tradition.”
A Jamaica Plain resident and graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Judge Botsford’s legal career spans 30 years of public and private service. Following a clerkship for SJC Justice Francis J. Quirico, Judge Botsford worked one year at the former Boston law firm, Hill & Barlow. She left to serve as an Assistant Attorney General for four years and returned to private practice when she formed the law firm of Rosenfeld, Botsford & Krokidas. Later, Judge Botsford worked as a prosecutor in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office for six years before Governor Dukakis appointed her to the bench in 1989.
She chaired the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct for three years and was a member of the SJC Committee to Study the Code of Judicial Conduct. She serves as chair of the Superior Court’s committee on mentoring and training new judges.
Margot Botsford and her husband Stephen Rosenfeld have four children. Judge Botsford is a Trustee of Northeastern University.
Governor Patrick praised the Judicial Nominating Commission, chaired by Lisa C. Goodheart, for its deliberate, thorough and thoughtful consideration of a field of highly qualified candidates. He also thanked the Joint Bar Committee for its participation in the process and endorsement of his nominee.
The Governor has submitted the nomination today to the Governor’s Council and asked for their prompt and favorable consideration.
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