Brody's Notes... Lesbian Massachusetts Supreme Court Nominee Confirmed

Governor Deval L. Patrick, (D-MA) & Justice Barbara A. Lenk
Photo By Matt Bennett/Governor's Office 

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) MAY 4 | Massachusetts Appeals Court Judge Barbara A. Lenk has won confirmation by the Governor's Council to the state's supreme court after a 5-3 vote. Justice Lenk was nominated by Governor Deval L. Patrick, (D) last April 4th and when her nomination was announced stated:

“I am honored to nominate Justice Lenk to the Supreme Judicial Court. She is a brilliant and thoughtful jurist, with a deep sense of justice. Justice Lenk will continue to make extraordinary contributions to the Commonwealth and our judicial system as a member of our highest court.”

Lenk, is openly Lesbian and married her partner, Debra Krupp, after the landmark 2003 Massachusetts high court ruling that legalised same-sex marriages in the Commonwealth. The Justice has 18 years’ experience on the bench, a degree from Harvard Law School, and a doctorate in political philosophy from Yale.

Lenk's confirmation hearing was extremely contentious with critics charging her appointment to the court would encourage the indoctrination of children into a lifestyle of homosexuality. She was also grilled about her ruling in a same-sex incest appellate case, and about whether she had avoided conflicts of interest when her wife had represented clients in front of the Appeals Court as a lawyer for the Massachusetts public defenders’ office.

According to the Boston Globe:

Lenk had the full backing of the state’s legal establishment. Bar association leaders, former judges, and Lenk’s former clerks wrote letters to the Governor’s Council, saying Lenk’s critics were inappropriately focused on her sexuality and ignoring her legal credentials.

They praised her as a woman of fairness, decency, and uncommon intellect.

Patrick had sought to cool the emotional debate, saying the fact that Lenk would be the first openly gay SJC justice was a “nice coincidence,” but secondary to her qualifications for the bench.

"I thank the members of the Council who concluded, as I did, that Justice Lenk's sharp intellect, vast experience, and deep sense of humanity will make her an outstanding Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court," Patrick said in a statement issued after the Governor's Council vote. "The people of the Commonwealth will be well served by having her extraordinary talents and wisdom join our highest court."