Discussion on Justice Held at Lexington Depot

Justice in the Commonwealth was the topic of this month's "Open House," discussed by State Rep. Jay Kaufman and Ralph D. Gants, who was appointed to the state Supreme Judicial Court by Gov. Deval Patrick in January 2009.

About 25 people attended the event - a public-policy series produced since 1995 by Kaufman with the Lexington Historical Society and LexMedia – at the Lexington Depot.

Gants talked about his role as a judge, how the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) system works in the state and answered questions from members of the audience and Kaufman.

The SJC, the state's highest appellate court, has one chief justice and six associate justices. Gants is an associate justice for the SJC, and was previously a Superior Court associate justice.

One attendee asked Gants how politics come into play for judges in the SJC.

"We fortunately don't need to be elected, and don't need to raise money from the attorneys coming before us," Gants said. "Politics are not an issue."

He said the justices are a collegial group, and bring varying ideas and concepts to their work deciding cases.

"I feel fondly every judge offers a vital perspective," he said. "We all have different experiences as judges, so we bring those different experiences to the court."

Gants talked about the role law clerks have assisting judges in writing a decision. He has two clerks working under him, however there is a shortage of clerks in the trial court system because of a hiring freeze, he said.

Kaufman said that while many state budgets have taken hits recently, the courts are dealing with less-than-optimal staffing levels because of the hiring freeze.

"The budgets for the courts are woefully inadequate," Kaufman said. "The courts have really taken it on the chin, which means the justice system has taken it on the chin in the last couple of years."

Gants was asked what process he goes through when making a decision, and said most cases come before the SJC because the law is uncertain – making each case a hard one to decide.

To do so, Gants said he looks at the language of the law, the history and context of it, and attempts to figure out what the legislature meant by it.

"We don't take any easy cases," he said.

Next month's Open House will be held on June 17.