Marshall Nearing Approval For SJC

Margaret H. Marshall likely will be confirmed next week as the second woman justice on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, according to Dorothy A. Kelly-Gay, chair of the Governor's Council, which must approve nominations to the state's highest court.

Marshall, Harvard's vice president and general counsel, testified yesterday at her confirmation hearing before the eight-member Council.

"I believe that my history has demonstrated that I can listen to all points of view and reach a fair decision," Marshall said during her testimony.

Also testifying at the State House hearing was Governor William F. Weld '66, who nominated the lawyer for the position last month.

The Council appears to unanimously favor Marshall's nomination and will probably confirm her next Wednesday in a noon meeting, Kelly-Gay said after the hearing.

"I didn't detect that anybody was in opposition," Kelly-Gay said, adding that the confirmation would not be final until the Council had voted.

Council members questioned Marshall, who practiced law in Massachusetts for 20 years before coming to Harvard four years ago, on various points of law and ethics, including the death penalty, domestic violence and discipline procedures for lawyers.

Marshall said the Court needs to make justice more accessible to citizens, particularly those who may be reluctant to testify or uncertain about their rights.

"People who are victims of abuse often don't feel comfortable in court," she said.

Possible remedies which she considered while a member of the Court's Gender Bias Task Force included flexible scheduling of hearings and "writing decisions which can be read in plain English," Marshall told the Council.

In addition to a parade of witnesses who testified in support of Marshall's nomination, several also spoke against her. According to the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, a black should have been nominated to the all-white Court in place of Marshall, who is white.

"No court that remains racially exclusive can fulfill its true purpose in our society," the MBLA's Geraldine Hines testified.

The MBLA and other supporters of racial diversity on the Court were quick to note that they do not dispute Marshall's qualifications. A qualified black judge, however, would represent a portion of the state's society that currently has no voice on the Court, Hines said.

"In 1996, there is no worthy or credible explanation for the continued exclusion of persons of color from the Supreme Judicial Court," Hines said.

According to Council chair Kelly-Gay, two African American judges were on the short list for nomination to the Supreme Judicial Court before Weld chose Marshall.