Roderick L. Ireland

Roderick L. Ireland
Ireland in 2013
Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
In office
December 20, 2010 – July 25, 2014
Appointed byDeval Patrick
Preceded byMargaret H. Marshall
Succeeded byRalph Gants
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
In office
1997 – December 19, 2010
Appointed byBill Weld
Succeeded byFernande R.V. Duffly
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court
In office
1990–1997
Appointed byMichael Dukakis
Personal details
Born (1944-12-03) December 3, 1944 (age 79)
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materLincoln University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)
Harvard University (LLM)
Northeastern University (PhD)

Roderick L. Ireland (born December 3, 1944) is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and the first African American to serve that position. He was nominated for Chief Justice by Governor Deval Patrick on November 4, 2010,[1] and sworn in on December 20.[2] He retired from service on the court on July 25, 2014.[3]

  1. ^ Boston Globe: Frank Phillips, "Patrick to name first African-American chief justice of SJC", November 4, 2010, accessed December 21, 2010
  2. ^ WBUR: "Ireland Is Sworn In As SJC Chief Justice," December 20, 2010, accessed December 21, 2010
  3. ^ "Patrick's SJC pick a Mass. Milestone - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.