The court that issued the historic ruling making Massachusetts the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriages could be getting its first gay justice.
Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday nominated Barbara Lenk to fill an open slot on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Lenk is openly gay and married her partner after the high court ruled in 2003 that the state’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
Patrick said Lenk, a state appellate court justice, is highly respected for “her insightful and prodigious writing and thoughtful demeanor.” He also pointed to her life story. Lenk grew up in Queens, N.Y., the daughter of bookbinder and housekeeper.
He called the fact that Lenk, 60, would also be the court’s first openly gay justice “a nice coincidence.”
“I like the idea of firsts, as you know, and I’m proud of this one,” Patrick said. “But first and foremost, this is a very well prepared and highly qualified candidate.”
Lenk said her potential elevation to the high court “shows that my story is the American story, where anything is possible.”
Lenk said she came from modest means “ her mother grew up on a potato farm on Long Island “ and won scholarships to help attend college. She has degrees from Fordham University, Harvard Law School and Yale University.
“If I am confirmed to the Supreme Judicial Court I will bring with me much more than my academic and legal education,” she said. “I will bring with me the sympathy and understanding of one who has experienced a full life from both inside and outside the mainstream.”
But Lenk seemed to downplay the influence in her life of one of the court’s most momentous recent rulings. The 2003 decision, known as the Goodridge case, legalized gay marriage.
“Goodridge is the law of the Commonwealth,” she said. “But it’s not the only decision that has had an impact on my life.”
Critics questioned whether Lenk could be impartial and said it appeared Patrick appointed her in deference to the gay community.
“She certainly has a particular view on the gay lesbian bisexual transgender issues,” said Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which has opposed same-sex marriage. “It is certainly our hope that if she is confirmed by the governor’s council, she would not be a partisan ideologue.”
During her tenure on the Appeals Court, Lenk authored a handful of key decisions.
In 1995, Lenk issued a strike injunction against Holyoke teachers in a contract dispute with the local school committee and in a separate case that year ruled that a principal could expel a student for carrying a novelty knife.
Lenk also authored a decision that broadened the state’s witness intimidation laws and in 1998 upheld the rape conviction of John R. Hanlon, the former pastor at St. Paul’s Church in Hingham and St. Mary’s Church in Plymouth.
If confirmed Lenk, a Carlisle resident, would succeed Judith Cowin, who is retiring this month after 11 years as an associate justice on the high court. Cowin leaves the court Tuesday.
The nomination of Lenk marks another in a series of firsts for Patrick. Last year, he elevated Roderick Ireland from associate justice to become the state’s first black chief justice.
Earlier this year, Patrick appointed Fernande “Nan” Duffly to associate justice, making her the first person of Asian-American descent to serve on the SJC.
Martin Healy, chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Bar Association, called Lenk a “judge’s judge” and said the appointment signifies Patrick’s commitment to diversifying the bench.
“It makes a statement to litigants, that a justice such as Lenk is someone who understands the struggles they may have gone through in their lives,” said Healy. “It provides a different level of empathy on the court and I think that’s a good thing.”
Kara Suffredini, executive director of the gay rights advocacy group MassEquality said Lenk’s confirmation would “shatter the glass ceiling in Massachusetts” for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lawyers to the state’s highest court.
“The bench should reflect the community that it serves,” Suffredini said.
Lenk was appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court by former Gov. William Weld in 1993 and was named to the state appeals court in 1995. She had been considered as a candidate for previous vacancies on the high court.
Lenk graduated from Harvard Law School in 1979 and joined the law firm of Brown, Rudnick, Freed & Gesmer, later becoming a partner and specializing in First Amendment issues, according to her biography.
She chaired the Massachusetts Appeals Court Personnel Committee and was a former chair of the board of editors of the Boston Bar Journal. She is also a trustee of Western New England College in Springfield.
All judicial nominations must be approved by the Governor’s Council.
Despite having grown up in New York, Lenk said her baseball allegiance is to the Boston Red Sox.
“My father had been a Brooklyn Dodgers fans and so there was no question,” she said. “I couldn’t be a Yankees fan.”
