The following is a list of justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court which are broken down by pre- and post-statehood appointments. Historically, only three individuals have declined appointment to the Court which all occurred during the Provincial Congress period: William Reed in 1775, Robert Treat Paine in 1776, and James Warren in 1777. In the modern era, mandatory retirement has been a requirement when a given justice reaches the age of 70. This has been in place since 1976 when Chief Justice G. Joseph Tauro stepped down.
| Title | Name | Began active service | Appointed by | Reaches age 70 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | 2020 | Charlie Baker | 2036 | |
| Associate Justice | 2016 | 2034 | ||
| Associate Justice | 2017 | 2029 | ||
| Associate Justice | 2020 | 2038 | ||
| Associate Justice | 2020 | 2038 | ||
| Associate Justice | 2024 | Maura Healey | 2050 | |
| Associate Justice | 2024 | 2030 |
| Justice | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Stoughton (1631–1701) | Inaugural | 1692 – July 7, 1701 (Died) | Sir William Phips | |
| 2 | Wait Winthrop (1642–1717) | W. Stoughton | 1701 – 1701 (Resigned) | Governor's Council | |
| 3 | Isaac Addington (1645–1719) | W. Winthrop | 1702 – 1703 (Resigned) | Joseph Dudley | |
| 4 | Wait Winthrop (1642–1717) | I. Addington | 1708 – November 7, 1717 (Died) | ||
| 5 | Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) | W. Winthrop | 1718 – 1728 (Resigned) | Samuel Shute | |
| 6 | Benjamin Lynde Sr. (1666–1749) | Sa. Sewall | 1729 – January 28, 1745 (Died) | William Burnet | |
| 7 | Paul Dudley (1666–1751) | B. Lynde Sr. | 1745 – January 25, 1751 (Died) | William Shirley | |
| 8 | Stephen Sewall (1702–1760) | P. Dudley | 1751 – September 10, 1760 (Died) | ||
| 9 | Thomas Hutchinson (1711–1780) | St. Sewall | 1761 – 1769 (Became Acting Governor) | Francis Bernard | |
| 10 | Benjamin Lynde Jr. (1700–1781) | T. Hutchinson | 1769 – 1771 (Resigned) | Thomas Hutchinson | |
| 11 | Peter Oliver (1713–1791) | B. Lynde Jr. | 1772 – 1775 (Removed from office) | ||
| 12 | John Adams (1735–1826) | Inaugural | 1775 – 1776 (Never presided, resigned) | Provincial Congress | |
| 13 | William Cushing (1732–1810) | J. Adams | 1777 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) | ||
| Justice | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Danforth (bapt. 1623–1699) | Inaugural | 1692 – November 5, 1699 (Died) | Sir William Phips | |
| 2 | Wait Winthrop (1642–1717) | Inaugural | 1692 – 1701 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
| 3 | John Richards (bef. 1630–1694) | Inaugural | 1692 – April 2, 1694 (Died) | ||
| 4 | Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) | Inaugural | 1692 – 1718 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
| 5 | Elisha Cooke Sr. (1637–1715) | J. Richards | 1695 – 1702 (Resigned) | ||
| 6 | John Walley (d. 1712) | T. Danforth | 1700 – 1712 (Died) | ||
| 7 | John Saffin (bapt. 1626–1710) | W. Winthrop | 1701 – 1702 (Appointment not renewed) | Governor's Council | |
| 8 | John Hathorne (1641–1717) | E. Cooke | 1702 – 1712 (Resigned) | Joseph Dudley | |
| 9 | John Leverett (1662–1724) | J. Saffin | 1702 – 1708 (Resigned) | ||
| 10 | Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718) | J. Leverett | 1708 – 1717 (Appointment not renewed) | ||
| 11 | Benjamin Lynde Sr. (1666–1749) | Vacant | 1712 – 1729 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
| 12 | Nathaniel Thomas (1643–1718) | 1712 – October 22, 1718 (Died) | |||
| 13 | Addington Davenport (1670–1736) | J. Corwin | December 9, 1715 – April 3, 1736 (Died) | William Tailer | |
| 14 | Edmund Quincy III (1681–1737) | Vacant | 1718 – February 23, 1737 (Died) | Samuel Shute | |
| 15 | Paul Dudley (1666–1751) | 1718 – 1751 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |||
| 16 | John Cushing | B. Lynde Sr. | 1728 – 1733 (Resigned) | William Burnet | |
| 17 | Jonathan Remington (1677–1745) | J. Cushing | 1733 – September 20, 1745 (Died) | ||
| 18 | Richard Saltonstall | A. Davenport | 1736 – 1756 (Resigned) | ||
| 19 | Thomas Graves | E. Quincy | 1737 – 1738 (Resigned) | ||
| 20 | Stephen Sewall (1702–1760) | T. Graves | 1739 – 1745 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
| 21 | Nathaniel Hubbard | P. Dudley | 1745 – 1746 | William Shirley | |
| 22 | Benjamin Lynde Jr. | J. Remington | 1747 – 1769 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
| 23 | John Cushing Jr. | N. Hubbard | 1747 – 1771 (Resigned) | ||
| 24 | Chambers Russell (1713–1766) | St. Sewall | 1752 – 1766 (Died) | ||
| 25 | Peter Oliver (1713–1791) | R. Saltonstall | 1756 – 1772 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
| 26 | Edmund Trowbridge (1709–1793) | C. Russell | 1767 – 1775 (Removed from office) | Francis Bernard | |
| 27 | Foster Hutchinson (1724–1799) | B. Lynde Jr. | 1771 – 1775 (Removed from office) | Thomas Hutchinson | |
| 28 | Nathaniel Ropes (1726–1774) | Vacant | 1772 – 1774 (Died) | ||
| 29 | William Cushing (1732–1810) | 1772 – 1775 (Reorganization of Court) | |||
| 30 | William Brown (1737–1802) | N. Ropes | 1774 – 1775 (Removed from office) | ||
| 31 | William Cushing (1732–1810) | Inaugural | 1775 – 1776 (Continued as Chief Justice) | Provincial Congress | |
| 32 | Nathaniel Sargent (1731–1791) | Inaugural | 1775 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) | ||
| 33 | Jedediah Foster (1726–1779) | Inaugural | 1776 – October 17, 1779 (Died) | ||
| 34 | James Sullivan (1744–1808) | Inaugural | March 1776 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) | ||
| 35 | David Sewall (1735–1825) | W. Cushing | 1777 – 1780 (Constitution of 1780) | ||
| Image | Justice | Position | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Cushing | Inaugural | 1780 – 1789 | |||
| Nathaniel Sargent | Inaugural | 1780 – 1791 | |||
| David Sewall | Inaugural | 1780 – 1789 | |||
| James Sullivan | Inaugural | 1780 – 1782 | |||
| Francis Dana | J. Foster (1779) | 1785 – 1806 | |||
| Increase Sumner | J. Sullivan | 1782 – 1787 | John Hancock | ||
| Nathaniel Sargent | W. Cushing | 1790 – October 2, 1791 | |||
| Robert Treat Paine | D. Sewall | 1790 – 1804 | |||
| Nathan Cushing | N. Sargent | 1790 – 1800 | |||
| Francis Dana | N. Sargent | 1791 – 1806 | |||
| Thomas Dawes | F. Dana | 1792 – 1802 | |||
| Theophilus Bradbury | I. Sumner | 1797 – July 1803 | |||
| Samuel Sewall | N. Cushing | 1800 – 1814 | Caleb Strong | ||
| Theodore Sedgwick | T. Dawes | 1802 – January 24, 1813 | |||
| Simeon Strong | Inaugural | 1801 – 1805 | |||
| George Thatcher | Inaugural | 1801 – January 1824 | |||
| Theophilus Parsons | F. Dana | 1806 – October 13, 1813 | |||
| Isaac Parker | S. Strong | 1806 – 1814 | |||
| Charles Jackson | T. Sedgwick | 1813 – 1823 | |||
| Samuel Sewall | T. Parsons | 1814 – June 8, 1814 | |||
| Daniel Dewey | S. Sewall | 1814 – May 26, 1815 | |||
| Samuel Putnam | I. Parker | 1814 – 1842 | |||
| Isaac Parker | S. Sewall | 1814 – July 25, 1830 | |||
| Samuel Wilde | D. Dewey | 1815 – 1850 | |||
| Levi Lincoln Jr. | G. Thatcher | 1824 – 1825 | William Eustis | ||
| Marcus Morton | L. Lincoln Jr. | 1825 – 1840 | Levi Lincoln Jr. | ||
| Lemuel Shaw | I. Parker | August 30, 1830 – August 21, 1860 | |||
| Charles Augustus Dewey | Inaugural | 1837 – 1866 | Edward Everett | ||
| Samuel Hubbard | S. Putnam | 1842 – 1847 | John Davis | ||
| Theron Metcalf | M. Morton I (1840) | 1848 – 1865 | George N. Briggs | ||
| Charles E. Forbes | T. Metcalf | 1848 – 1848 | |||
| Richard Fletcher | C. Forbes | 1848 – 1853 | |||
| George Tyler Bigelow | S. Wilde | 1850 – 1860 | |||
| Caleb Cushing | Inaugural | 1852 – 1853 | George S. Boutwell | ||
| Benjamin Thomas | R. Fletcher | 1853 – 1859 | John H. Clifford | ||
| Pliny Merrick | C, Cushing | 1853 – 1864 | |||
| Ebenezer R. Hoar | J. Nolan | 1859 – 1869 | Nathaniel Prentice Banks | ||
| George Tyler Bigelow | L. Shaw | 1860 – 1867 | |||
| Reuben Atwater Chapman | 1860 – 1868 | ||||
| Horace Gray | N. Clifford | 1864 – September 15, 1873 | John Albion Andrew | ||
| James Denison Colt | T. Metcalf | 1865 – 1866 | |||
| Dwight Foster | C. A. Dewey | 1866 – 1869 | Alexander H. Bullock | ||
| John Wells | J. D. Colt | 1866 – 1875 | |||
| Reuben Atwater Chapman | G. T. Bigelow | 1868 – June 28, 1873 | |||
| James Denison Colt | R. A. Chapman | 1868 – 1881 | |||
| Marcus Morton II | E. Hoar | 1869 – 1882 | William Claflin | ||
| Seth Ames | D. Foster | 1869 – 1881 | |||
| Horace Gray | R. A. Chapman | September 15, 1873 – January 9, 1882 | William B. Washburn | ||
| Charles Devens | H. Gray | 1873 – 1877 | |||
| William Endicott | Inaugural | 1873 – 1882 | |||
| Otis Lord | J. Wells | 1875 – 1882 | William Gaston | ||
| Augustus Soule | C. Devens | March 27, 1877 – April 11, 1881 | Alexander H. Rice | ||
| Walbridge A. Field | S. Ames | 1881 – September 4, 1890 | John D. Long | ||
| William Allen | 1881 – 1891 | ||||
| Charles Devens | A. Soule | 1881 – 1891 | |||
| Marcus Morton II | H. Gray | 1882 – 1890 | |||
| Waldo Colburn | W. C. Endicott | November 10, 1882 – September 26, 1885 | |||
| Charles Allen | M. Morton II | 1882 – 1898 | |||
| Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | O. Lord | 1882 – 1899 | |||
| William Gardner | W. Colburn | 1885 – 1887 | George D. Robinson | ||
| Marcus Perrin Knowlton | W. Gardner | 1887 – 1902 | Oliver Ames | ||
| Walbridge A. Field | M. Morton | September 4, 1890 – July 15, 1899 | John Q. A. Brackett | ||
| James Madison Morton Sr. | 1890 – 1913 | ||||
| James Barker | W. Allen | 1891 – October 2, 1905 | William Russell | ||
| John Lathrop | 1891 – 1906 | ||||
| John Wilkes Hammond | C. Allen | 1898 – 1914 | Roger Wolcott | ||
| Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | W. A. Field | August 2, 1899 – December 4, 1902 | |||
| William Loring | O. W. Holmes | September 7, 1899 – September 16, 1919 | |||
| Henry Braley | M. P. Knowlton | 1902 – 1929 | Winthrop M. Crane | ||
| Marcus Perrin Knowlton | O. W. Holmes | 1902 – September 7, 1911 | |||
| Henry Sheldon | Barker | 1905 – 1915 | William Lewis Douglas | ||
| Arthur Prentice Rugg | J. Lathrop | 1906 – 1911 | Curtis Guild Jr. | ||
| Arthur Prentice Rugg | M. P. Knowlton | 1911 – June 12, 1938 | Eugene Foss | ||
| Charles DeCourcy | A.P. Rugg | 1911 – 1924 | |||
| John C. Crosby | J. Morton | December 31, 1913 – October 1, 1937 | David I. Walsh | ||
| Edward Pierce | J. Hammond | 1914 – 1937 | |||
| James Carroll | Sheldon | 1915 – 1932 | |||
| Charles Jenney | W. Loring | 1919 – November 29, 1923 | Calvin Coolidge | ||
| William C. Wait | C. Jenney | 1923 – 1934 | Channing H. Cox | ||
| George A. Sanderson | W. Wait | 1924 – 1932 | |||
| Fred Tarbell Field | H. Braley | January 30, 1929 – June 30, 1938 | Frank G. Allen | ||
| Charles Donahue | March 17, 1932 – April 26, 1944 | Joseph B. Ely | |||
| Henry T. Lummus | 1932 – 1955 | ||||
| Stanley Elroy Qua | 1934 – 1947 | ||||
| Arthur Dolan | J. C. Crosby | 1937 – August 20, 1949 | Charles F. Hurley | ||
| Louis Cox | Edward Pierce | 1937 – 1944 | |||
| Fred Tarbell Field | A. P. Rugg | June 30, 1938 – July 24, 1947 | |||
| James Ronan | F. T. Field | 1938 – 1959 | |||
| Raymond Sanger Wilkins | L. Cox | 1944 – 1956 | Leverett Saltonstall | ||
| John Spalding | C. Donahue | 1944 – 1971 | |||
| Stanley Elroy Qua | F. T. Field | 1947 – 1956 | Robert F. Bradford | ||
| Harold P. Williams | S. Qua | 1947 – 1962 | |||
| Edward Counihan | A. Dolan | 1949 – 1960 | Paul A. Dever | ||
| Arthur Whittemore | H. Lummus | October 1955 – October 1, 1969 | Christian Herter | ||
| Raymond Sanger Wilkins | S. E. Qua | 1956 – 1970 | |||
| R. Ammi Cutter | 1956 – 1972 | ||||
| Paul G. Kirk Sr. | E. Counihan | November 23, 1960 – December 15, 1970 | Foster Furcolo | ||
| Jacob Spiegel | J. Ronan | 1960 – 1972 | |||
| G. Joseph Tauro | 1961 – 1970 | John Volpe | |||
| Paul Reardon | H. P. Williams | 1962 – 1977 | |||
| G. Joseph Tauro | R. S. Wilkins | 1970 – 1976 | |||
| Francis Quirico | 1969 – 1981 | Francis W. Sargent | |||
| Robert Braucher | P. Kirk | January 18, 1971 – August 26, 1981 | |||
| Edward F. Hennessey | J. Spalding | 1971 – 1976 | |||
| Benjamin Kaplan | R. A. Cutter | 1972 – 1981 | |||
| Herbert P. Wilkins | J. Spiegel | 1972 – 1996 | |||
| Edward F. Hennessey | G. J. Tauro | 1976 – 1989 | Michael Dukakis | ||
| Paul J. Liacos | E. Hennessey | 1976 – June 20, 1986 | |||
| Ruth Abrams | P. Reardon | 1978 – 2000 | |||
| Joseph R. Nolan | F. Quirico | 1981 – 1995 | Edward J. King | ||
| Neil L. Lynch | B. Kaplan | 1981 – 2000 | |||
| Francis Patrick O'Connor | R. Braucher | 1981 – 1997 | |||
| Paul J. Liacos | E. Hennessey | June 20, 1986 – September 30, 1996 | Michael Dukakis | ||
| John M. Greaney | P. Liacos | 1989 – 2008 | |||
| Charles Fried | J. Nolan | September 1995 – June 1999 | William Weld | ||
| Margaret H. Marshall | 1996 – October 14, 1999 | ||||
| Herbert P. Wilkins | P. Liacos | 1996 – October 13, 1999 | |||
| Roderick L. Ireland | 1997 – December 20, 2010 | ||||
| Margaret H. Marshall | H. Wilkins | October 14, 1999 – October 31, 2010 | Paul Cellucci | ||
| Judith Cowin | C. Fried | 1999 – 2011 | |||
| Francis X. Spina | M. Marshall | 1999 – August 12, 2016 | |||
| Martha B. Sosman | N. Lynch | 2000 – March 10, 2007 | |||
| Robert J. Cordy | R. Abrams | 2001 – August 12, 2016 | |||
| Margot Botsford | M. Sosman | September 4, 2007 – March 15, 2017 | Deval Patrick | ||
| Ralph Gants | J. Greaney | January 29, 2009 – July 28, 2014 | |||
| Roderick L. Ireland | M. Marshall | December 20, 2010 – July 25, 2014 | |||
| Barbara Lenk | J. Cowin | June 8, 2011 – December 1, 2020 | |||
| Fernande R.V. Duffly | R. Ireland | February 1, 2011 – July 12, 2016 | |||
| Ralph Gants | R. Ireland | July 28, 2014 – September 14, 2020[1] [2] | |||
| Geraldine Hines | R. Gants | July 31, 2014 – August 18, 2017 | |||
| Frank Gaziano | F. Spina | August 18, 2016 – Incumbent | Charlie Baker | ||
| Kimberly S. Budd | F. Duffly | August 24, 2016 – December 1, 2020 | |||
| David A. Lowy | R. Cordy | August 24, 2016 – February 3, 2024 | |||
| Elspeth B. Cypher | M. Botsford | March 31, 2017 – January 12, 2024 | |||
| Scott Kafker | G. Hines | August 21, 2017 – Incumbent | |||
| Kimberly S. Budd | R. Gants | December 1, 2020 – Incumbent | |||
| Dalila Argaez Wendlandt | B. Lenk | December 4, 2020 – Incumbent | |||
| Serge Georges Jr. | K. Budd | December 16, 2020 – Incumbent | |||
| Bessie Dewar | E. Cypher | January 16, 2024 – Incumbent | Maura Healey | ||
| Gabrielle Wolohojian | D. Lowy | April 22, 2024 – Incumbent | |||