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Francis Spina
Francis X. Spina was a justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He was nominated to the court by Republican Governor Paul Cellucci in September 1999 and assumed office on October 14, 1999. He retired on August 12, 2016, ahead of reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.[1][2] He was succeeded on the court by Frank M. Gaziano.
Education
Spina received his B.A. from Amherst College and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.[2]
Career
- 1999-2016: Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Court
- 1997-1999: Judge, Massachusetts Appeals Court
- 1993-1997: Judge, Massachusetts Superior Courts
- 1983-1993: Partner, Reder, Whalen, & Spina and Katz, Lapointe and Spina
- 1979-1983: Second assistant district attorney, Berkshire County
- 1975-1977: Assistant city solicitor, City of Pittsfield Law Department
- 1972-1975: Attorney, Western Massachusetts Legal Services[2][3]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Spina received a campaign finance score of 0.64, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of -0.44 that justices received in Massachusetts.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[4]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Massachusetts Justice Francis Spina. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Massachusetts Supreme Court
- Courts in Massachusetts
- Judicial selection in Massachusetts
- News: Drunk driving case reaches Massachusetts Supreme Court, November 25, 2011
External links
- Massachusetts Court System, "Supreme Judicial Court"
- Project Vote Smart, "Associate Justice Francis X. Spina (MA)"
- ABA Journal, "Lawyer Suspended for Excessive Discovery; Client Had Money and a 'Zealous Interest in Litigating'," March 23, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ The Boston Globe, "Cellucci taps Cowin, Spina for SJC posts," September 3, 1999
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Massachusetts Court System, "Justice Francis X. Spina," accessed March 23, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Associate Justice Francis X. Spina (MA)," accessed March 23, 2015
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Massachusetts • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Massachusetts
State courts:
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court • Massachusetts Appeals Court • Massachusetts Superior Courts • Massachusetts District Courts • Massachusetts Housing Courts • Massachusetts Juvenile Courts • Massachusetts Land Courts • Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts • Boston Municipal Courts, Massachusetts
State resources:
Courts in Massachusetts • Massachusetts judicial elections • Judicial selection in Massachusetts
