Paste your essay in here…Introduction:
Thomas E. Connolly ( born November 7, 1942) is a former associate justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts. Judge Connolly was appointed to the Superior Court of Massachusetts by Governor Michael Dukakis in 1990. Thomas E. Connolly now serves as a mediator and arbitrator for the private law firm of Esdaile, Barrett, Jacobs & Mone (Masslawyersweekly 2018). Judge Connolly is well known for ruling against the plaintiffs in the case of Goodrich vs. Department of Public Health and later ruling that same-sex couples from Rhode Island may marry in Massachusetts (Masslawyersweekly 2007)
Early Life and Education:
Thomas Edward Connolly was born on November 7th, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts (Masslawyersweekly 2007). He was the son of Irish Catholic immigrants, Sabina and Thomas Connolly. Judge Connolly attended Saint John’s Seminary, a Massachusetts seminary sponsored by the Archdiocese of Boston, and graduated in 1964 before attending law school (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). Connolly graduated from Boston College Law School in 1969 with a Juris Doctorate (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). Little is known about his childhood and there are no records of any activities or clubs he was involved in throughout his college career. He is a well-known fan of Boston College athletics, however.
Following his graduation from Boston College Law School, Connolly immediately got a job at the law firm of Schneider, Reilly (Subsequently known as Schneider, Reilly, Zeibin, Connelly and Costello) located in Boston (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). Connolly quickly gained the reputation as one of the best personal injury lawyers in the state of Massachusetts, regularly getting large settlements for his clients (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). Connolly departed from Schneider, Reilly, Zeibin, Connolly and Costello in 1985 to become a senior partner at the law firm of Connolly, Leavis and Rest. At his new firm, he continued to experience vast amounts of success, getting record-breaking settlements for plaintiffs and their families alike (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). Connolly continuously won many multi-million dollar awards for his clients and made a small fortune with his firm.
In 1987, Thomas Connolly was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trial lawyers (Masslawyersweekly 2007). The American College of Fair Trial Lawyers is “the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in North America, dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics and the administration of justice” (ACTL 2018). At the time of his judicial appointment, Connolly was also the president-elect of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018).
Judicial Career:
Thomas Connolly was appointed to the position of Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court by Governor Michael Dukakis in 1990. Connolly was selected using the judicial election system that is exclusive to Massachusetts. This system involves a group of 21 non-partisan volunteers appointed by the governor called the “Judicial Nominating Commission” that sends the governor a list of 3-6 names of pre-screened candidates for the governor to potentially appoint as a judge (Judicialselection.com 2018). Since the commission is made up of people chosen by the governor, it would be fair to assume that there is probably some partisanship in this process. Thomas Connelly was chosen by the judicial nominating council and his name was one of those submitted to Governor Dukakis for approval. He was approved by Dukakis in 1990 and resigned from his job at Connolly, Leavis and Rest to be an Associate Justice.
Over his time as an Associate Justice with the Superior Court of Massachusetts, Connolly gained a career as being the go-to person for arbitration and mediation cases where a settlement could not be reached (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). More often than not, Judge Connolly was able to reach an agreement that both sides were okay with. He also had the reputation of being very firm with his sentencing. Several lawyers have commented on his harsh sentencing with one lawyer saying “He is the toughest judge on sentencing that I've ever appeared in front of, and I've appeared in front of a lot.” and several other lawyers reverberate that same sentiment with another saying “I don't mind a tough sentencer, and I think having a heavy-handed judge in the courthouse is helpful, but he's way too severe in my opinion.” (Masslawyersweekly 2007). He is still widely respected with many of his contemporaries and lawyers who have worked with him eager to sing their praises for a judge they saw as having an “a remarkable knack for bringing parties together, cutting through issues and offering sensible solutions” (Masslawyersweekly 2007).
Judge Connolly’s 21-year judicial career was filled with many notable decisions and even a few landmark rulings. The legacy of Judge Thomas Connolly will likely be remembered by his rulings in several same-sex cases affecting Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. The first of these was the 2002 case of Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health where seven same-sex couples from Massachusetts were suing the Department of Public Health for the right to be issued marriage licenses (Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health 2003). Judge Connolly ruled against the plaintiff and advised them that this specific issue needs to be taken care of through legislation and not through judicial decisions (Masslawyersweekly 2007). The case was subsequently appealed and brought to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts where a 4-3 decision ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry.
Two years later, however, Judge Connolly found himself on the other side of the same-sex marriage debate when he ruled that same-sex couples from Rhode Island can get married in Massachusetts (Masslawyersweekly 2007). In his own words, Judge Connolly based the decision on the fact that ''No evidence was introduced before this court of a constitutional amendment, statute or controlling appellate decision from Rhode Island that explicitly deems void or otherwise expressly forbids same-sex marriage,'' (Zezima 2006). Judge Connolly’s rulings in regards to same-sex marriage point to the idea that he is a judicial textualist, meaning a judge who uses the plain meaning of a piece of original text to make their decisions.
Another noteworthy ruling made by Judge Connolly was in the sentencing of the cast Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Chimezie Akara where he imposed mandatory life sentences without chance of parole and an additional 66-80 years in prison for both defendants (Commonwealth of Mass vs. Chimezie Akara). The case revolved around the death of an unborn child after a stray bullet entered the stomach of the pregnant mother. Judge Connolly said “Look at their ages. It's a tragedy. Their lives are over. But that is what they have brought upon themselves." in regards to the case (Masslawyersweekly 2007). This is another example of Judge Connolly’s seemingly harsh philosophy of sentencing.
Another notable ruling by Judge Connolly was in a 2006 arbitration hearing where he determined that a female trial court employee could not be dismissed because of a lap dance she gave to a sanitation worker. He determined that since the woman was on her lunch break that she should not be disciplined for the behavior and also states that “‘two seconds of 'disfavored conduct'" could not, in his opinion, "be considered integral to the performance of her duties.’” (Masslawyersweekly 2006). This ruling could set a precedent for what is and is not acceptable in the workplace.
Judge Connolly served on the Massachusetts Superior Court from 1990 to 2012 when he reached the age of 70 and went into mandatory retirement.
Awards and Honors:
Judge Thomas E Connolly received the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers following his retirement (Masslawyersweekly 2018). Prior to his judicial appointment, he was the president-elect for the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers and served as a fellow for the American College of Fair Trial Lawyers (Esdaile, Barrett et al 2018). There were no other public records of any awards won by Judge Thomas E Connolly.
Publications:
There were publications by Thomas E. Connolly to be found. He authored several opinions as an associate justice. Other than that, there is no public record of any publications by Judge Connolly.