Gov. Baker nominates Judge Kimberly Budd as Chief Justice

BOSTON — A historic announcement was made in Boston on Wednesday morning when Governor Baker nominated Associate Justice Kimberly Budd to chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.

For the first time in the court’s 328-year history, a Black woman has been nominated to lead.

PREVIOUS: Baker to elevate Budd to SJC chief justice

If confirmed, Budd would also be the youngest chief justice in 150 years.

Governor Charlie Baker announced the nomination during a news conference at the State House.

Judge Budd said she only found out about the nomination Tuesday.

“A little overwhelming and it’s very meaningful to me, but the idea of actually just being the chief of the Supreme Judicial Court is more overwhelming to me. So I will have to work to pull it all together, I think,” Judge Budd said.

Budd is a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School. She was appointed by Governor Baker as an associate justice on the Supreme Judicial Court in 2016.

If confirmed, Budd will replace the late Chief Justice Ralph Gants, who died unexpectedly last month.

Governor Baker said Budd’s resume speaks for itself.

“At this point in time a calm steady hand from someone who everybody admires as a person and who brings that ability to gives people a sense their views and their perspectives and their voices matters is exactly what this court needs in its next chief justice,” Baker said.

The 54-year-old judge called the nomination ‘bittersweet.’ She said she is honored to be considered to fill the vacancy and that if confirmed the high court will run smoothly during the pandemic. “People in the Commonwealth are in a panic. People are hurting and we have to make sure the judiciary is running as well as it can and that’s what I’m focused on right now,” Judge Budd said.

If confirmed by the Governor’s Council, Baker would have two more seats on the Supreme Judicial Court.

Budd’s associate justice seat and one that justice Barbara Lenk will vacate when she retires on December 1, 2020.

Baker said his goal is to complete the process by the end of the year.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said that Budd’s nomination is history in the making.

With Gov. Baker’s nomination of Justice Kimberly Budd to be the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, we are witnessing history being made: an exceptionally qualified Justice who is now the first nomination for a Black woman to lead the 328-year-old court.

—  Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins

Rollins went on to say that Budd is a “woman of exceptional integrity, legal acumen, and sound judgment," and she praised Governor Baker’s push for diversity.

Justice Budd’s lived experiences bring a perspective to this role that will change the court moving forward. The SJC as an institution holds so much sway over our future. With a more diverse SJC, we can make an already exceptional group of jurists ever better. We are living through history, and I congratulate Governor Baker on this unprecedented appointment. I encourage him in the coming weeks and months to continue prioritizing diversity as he considers the additional appointments of two new Associate Justices to the SJC, and the appointment of the next Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

—  Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins

Cox Media Group