District Judge Packard passes away at the age of 62

March 26, 2011

Massachusetts: Geoffrey C. Packard, judge of the Malden District Court, died of lung cancer on March 17, 2011 at the age of 62. He had served as a District Court judge since 2003. Prior to his judicial career, he was a criminal defense lawyer -- working for the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services from 1984 through 2002. One of his more famous clients was the convicted pedophile and priest John C. Geoghan. Judith Lindahl, a retired defense attorney and friend of Packard, explained, "Given his intellect and his moral standards, he could have been a powerfully dismissive man, but he was not...He had an enormous gentleness toward his friends...and he had a deep understanding and an acute perception of human frailty."