Remarks by

Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants

Recognizing Justice Botsford

Supreme Judicial Court

Seven Justice Courtroom

John Adams Courthouse

Boston, MA

February 14, 2017

Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants made special remarks prior

to oral arguments on February 14 recognizing retiring Supreme Judicial Court

Justice .

Justice Botsford:

What can I say upon the retirement from the bench of a Justice who has been my mentor and my good friend since my second day as a Judge on the Superior Court more than nineteen years ago; who is as fine a writer and thinker as has ever served on this Court; who has been the most thoughtful editor of her fellow Justices' opinions; who in her gentle way has influenced nearly every corner of the Judiciary, and who hates to be the center of attention? Losing Justice

Botsford is like a basketball team losing a player who scored thirty points and twelve assists per game. She scored points by taking on the most challenging cases, but it is her assists that will be the hardest to replace.

I am not the only Justice whom she has mentored. In the Spring of last year, when I learned that this Court was going to lose not only Justice Spina, but also Justices Cordy and

Duffly, I begged Justice Botsford not to retire at the end of the Court year as she had intended. I knew how important her example, her guidance, her humor, and her wisdom would be to the three new Justices. Although I was prepared to cry real tears, I did not need to. Justice Botsford stepped up to help with this challenge as she has helped with so many challenges facing the

Judiciary in her 26 years on the bench. Not only did she stay, and serve as a mentor for her suite mate, Justice Budd, but she took the lead in creating the first ever education program for new

SJC Justices, a sixteen-hour course taught in eight sessions, which we will have the opportunity to offer again in September for our newest two Justices. Equally importantly, she exemplifies the culture of this Court -- a Court that is rigorous but respectful, that focuses on the big picture but also on the precise choice of words, a Court where the Justices listen to each other and work collectively to craft opinions that attempt to solve challenging legal and practical problems. I think our three newest Justices will agree that their success in these past few months owes a great deal to her presence.

Her role as an educator and mentor has not been limited to helping SJC Justices. Former

Superior Court Chief Justice Barbara Rouse told me, "It was a testament to her generous nature and collegial manner that almost every Superior Court Judge thought of Judge Botsford as his or her mentor." As the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Flaschner Judicial Institute, she was instrumental in the creation of many judicial training programs, including the all-court implicit bias program last year. She has been a leader in the creation of the Trial Court J to J Mentoring

Program that the Dean of the National Judicial College told me last week was in his estimation the gold standard for judicial mentoring in this country.

The Botsford law clerks speak of her with pride, reverence, and a smile. Among Justice

Botsford's many talents is the ability to read and write letters, words, and numbers backward.

One of her law clerks gave her a clock with backward numbers as a farewell gift, which graces her lobby. I am told law students interviewing for a law clerk job are required to read that clock, no doubt as a test of whether they will know the law backwards and forward. Her work ethic and perseverance are legion. One law clerk recalls that when Justice Botsford was sitting with her reviewing edits to a draft opinion, the Justice suffered a nose bleed, but that did not stop her from finishing her edits.

Her work in education was not limited to the mentoring of Justices, Trial Court Judges, and law clerks. As a Superior Court Judge, in the case of Hancock v. Commissioner of Education, Justice Botsford concluded in a 318-page decision that students in four school districts -- Brockton, Lowell, Springfield, and Winchendon -- were not receiving the level of education that the Commonwealth has a Constitutional duty to provide. Chief Justice Margaret

Marshall described Justice Botsford's findings of fact as "a model of precision, comprehensiveness, and meticulous attention to detail . . . [that] will stand as a compelling, instructive account of the current state of public education in ." Although the SJC declined to adopt her conclusion that the Commonwealth had failed to meet its constitutional obligation, there can be little doubt that her critique of public education helped to prod the

Commonwealth to improve the quality of education for every child in this Commonwealth.

In view of all that she has accomplished in education, it is more than a little ironic that

Justice Botsford abandoned her plans to become a teacher following her graduation from

Barnard College after only six weeks at the Harvard School of Education. Instead, she went on to obtain a law degree at her beloved Northeastern University School of Law. Upon her graduation, she served as a law clerk to SJC Justice Francis Quirico, whom she describes as "one of the most patient, humble people I've ever known." After having a "cup of coffee" at the law firm of Hill and Barlow, she was hired by Attorney General to join his

Government Bureau, the training ground of so many great lawyers and judges. It was there she became reacquainted with Steve Rosenfeld, who later became her partner at a small private law firm and her partner in life. She soon returned to the public sector as an Assistant District

Attorney in the Middlesex DA's Office under the leadership of Scott Harshbarger, yet another great training ground. After sixteen years as an attorney in public and private practice, she was appointed in 1989 by Governor to the Superior Court, where she served until

Governor appointed her to the SJC in 2007. Chief Justice Rouse said of Justice Botsford, "If I had ever been given the opportunity as Chief Justice to send to Central Casting for an ideal Superior Court Judge, Margot Botsford would have gotten the nod. A Judge's Judge, a lawyer's Judge, and a litigant's Judge all rolled into one."

I am slowly moving through the five stages of grief at her departure from this Court, and

I know that everyone at the Court shares that grief. I take solace in knowing that there will be yet another chapter in her life in the law and that she will continue to be a mentor, an educator, and a wise advocate.

I will end with the description of Justice Botsford given by her long-time assistant, friend, and confidante, Joyce Hurley, who wrote, "Her consideration, her caring, her interest in others, her humanity knows no bounds." Justice Botsford, in case you cannot tell, I, along with the

Justices and everyone in our Supreme Judicial Court family, will miss you dearly.

Link to video of Remarks by Chief Justice Gants Recognizing Justice Botsford

Press Release - Supreme Judicial Court Justice Margot Botsford Retires