(The Republican- Stephanie Barry) — Legislators want Gov. Maura T. Healey to boost Hampden County’s presence on the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
And that has nowhere to go but up, since there hasn’t been a Hampden County Associate Justice on the 25-member court since 2022 when Justice C. Jeffrey Kinder, a Wilbraham resident, retired.
State Sen. John C. Velis, D-Westfield, has spearheaded the initiative through a letter to Healey signed by 10 other lawmakers from across the county.
“As you know, different regions of the Commonwealth represent different perspectives of our society, with differing and rich cultures, values, and points of view,” the Nov. 1 letter reads in part. “Justices bring their personal experiences to the job, and the region in which they grew up most certainly influences their thought process.”
The two-term senator said he was inspired to write the letter after Justice Amy Blake, during her hearing for the position of Chief Justice, highlighted the need for geographic diversity, noting the different perspective it brings to the judiciary.
“She was talking about regional diversity and how it’s really important that the court captures that. She’s 100 percent right,” Velis said. “And Hampden County is the most populous in the region.”
He pointed out that the Appeals Court is often the “last stop” for criminal and civil matters. That includes outcomes that are challenged but don’t make it to the Supreme Judicial Court — the state’s highest.
The Appeals Court hears most appeals from all of the departments of the Massachusetts Trial Court, including Superior, District, Probate and Family, Juvenile, Land and Housing courts, plus the Boston Municipal Court.
The Appeals Court also hears cases from final decisions of certain Massachusetts administrative agencies. It hears cases from September through July, typically with rotating three-justice panels.
There are justices with Western Massachusetts ties, including Associate Justices Paul Hart Smyth, once an assistant U.S. attorney in the Springfield office who went on to become a judge in Berkshire District Court; Ariane D. Vuono, once an assistant district attorney in Hampden County and later in the Northwestern District, before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney in Springfield; and Maureen E. Walsh, a graduate of Western New England Law School who went on to become an assistant district attorney for the Northwestern district attorney’s office and later a District Court judge in Holyoke and Northampton.
Velis said while he supports the wider Western Massachusetts representation on the Appeals Court, he and his colleagues remain adamant that at least one justice should hail from Hampden County.
“Can you imagine a world in which not one state legislator came from Hampden County? That would be absurd,” Velis said.
He said Healey’s aides relayed that they appreciated the overture through the letter. It is unclear when a new seat may open on the court.