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Ireland was an active member of Third Baptist Church, where his family had worshipped for years, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School. In addition, he was a respected contender at the Dunbar Community Center, where he seriously pursued his love of, and talent at, playing basketball. <ref>Personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>
Ireland was an active member of Third Baptist Church, where his family had worshipped for years, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School. In addition, he was a respected contender at the Dunbar Community Center, where he seriously pursued his love of, and talent at, playing basketball. <ref>Personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>


===Personal life===
Ireland is married to Alice Alexander. The now adult children from their previous marriages are Elizabeth and Michael (Ireland’s daughter and son), and Melanee (Alexander’s daughter). Ireland is a member of the [[Eliot Congregational Church]] in [[Roxbury, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maah.org/documents/ChiefJusticeRoderickLIreland.pdf|website=Museum of African American History|title=Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland}}</ref>
Ireland is married to Alice Alexander. The now adult children from their previous marriages are Elizabeth and Michael (Ireland’s daughter and son), and Melanee (Alexander’s daughter). Ireland is a member of the Elliot Congregational Church in [[Roxbury, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maah.org/documents/ChiefJusticeRoderickLIreland.pdf|website=Museum of African American History|title=Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland}}</ref>


===Education===
===Education===
Ireland received his B.A. from Lincoln University, the first degree-granting HBCU in the nation (1966); J.D. from [[Columbia Law School]] (1969); LL.M. from [[Harvard Law School]] (1975); and Ph.D. in Law, Policy and Society from [[Northeastern University]] (1998). <ref>{{cite web|title=Associate Justice Roderick L. Ireland|url=https://www.mass.gov/service-details/associate-justice-roderick-l-ireland|website=Mass.gov|language=en}}</ref>
Ireland received his B.A. from Lincoln University, the first degree-granting HBCU in the nation (1966); J.D. from Columbia Law School (1969); LL.M. from Harvard Law School (1975); and Ph.D. in Law, Policy and Society from Northeastern University (1998). <ref>{{cite web|title=Associate Justice Roderick L. Ireland|url=https://www.mass.gov/service-details/associate-justice-roderick-l-ireland|website=Mass.gov|language=en}}</ref>


===Bar Admissions===
===Bar Admissions===


Ireland was admitted to practice in New York State (1970), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1971), the [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]] (1971), and the [[United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts]] (1971). <ref>Personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>
Ireland was admitted to practice in New York State (1970), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1971), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1971), and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1971). <ref>Personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>


==Roxbury Defenders Committee==
==Roxbury Defenders Committee==
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Chief Justice Ireland has served on the faculty of both [[Northeastern University School of Law]] and Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University.
Chief Justice Ireland has served on the faculty of both [[Northeastern University School of Law]] and Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University.


==Recognitions==
==Honors==
===Renamings===
Ireland is the recipient of many honors and awards from civic, educational, professional and community organizations, including honorary degrees from diverse universities and law schools, some of which are reflected below.
⚫
In 2015, the town of [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] renamed the street Ireland grew up on, Terence Street, to Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland Way in honor of Ireland.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}


In 2017, the Hampden County Hall of Justice was renamed the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse in honor of Ireland.
===Selected Honors===
* The Hampden County Hall of Justice in Springfield was renamed the RODERICK L. IRELAND COURTHOUSE by the Massachusetts Legislature, with the approval of Governor [[Charlie Baker]] (2017)
* The official portrait of Ireland as Chief Justice, painted by the preeminent, contemporary African-American artist [[Robert Freeman]], was hung in the [[John Adams Courthouse]], Boston (2016)
⚫
* The City of [[Springfield, MA]] renamed the street Ireland grew up on, Terrence Street, to CHIEF JUSTICE RODERICK L. IRELAND WAY (2015)
* The JUDGE IRELAND CHILDREN’S FUND, INC., a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, was established in Ireland’s name to assist children and families in dire need and distress who appear in the Boston Juvenile Court.<ref>Selected honors identified through personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>

===Selected Awards===
* LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS AWARD, City of Boston for Black History Month (2018)
* COMMUNITY HERO AWARD, [[Community Resources for Justice]], Boston (2016)
* JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE AWARD, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys (2015)
* EXCELLENCE IN JUDICIAL SERVICE AWARD, Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and Massachusetts Black Judges Conference (2015)
* CITATION OF JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE AWARD, [[Boston Bar Association]] (2014)
* THURGOOD MARSHALL AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT, Boston NAACP (2014)
* PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE, Massachusetts Judges Association (2013)
* RODERICK L. IRELAND IMPACT AWARD, Springfield NAACP (2009)
* GREAT FRIEND OF JUSTICE AWARD, Massachusetts Bar Foundation (2008)
* PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD, [[Massachusetts Bar Association]] (2005)
* EXCELLENCE IN THE LAW AWARD, [[Massachusetts Bar Association]] and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Newspaper (2001)
* JUDICIAL RECOGNITION AWARD, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys (1999)
* ST. THOMAS MORE AWARD, [[Boston College Law School]] (1998)
* JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE AWARD, Massachusetts Judges Conference (1996)
* HASKELL COHN AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED JUDICIAL SERVICE, [[Boston Bar Association]] (1990)
* BOSTON COVENANT 1982 PEACE PRIZE, Boston Archbishop Humberto Cardinal Medeiros (1982)
* TEN OUTSTANDING YOUNG MEN OF AMERICA 1980, [[United States Junior Chamber]] (Jaycee) (1980)
* TEN OUTSTANDING YOUNG LEADERS OF BOSTON FOR 1979, Boston Junior Chamber (Jaycee) (1979)<ref>Selected awards identified through personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>


===Honorary Degrees===
===Honorary Degrees===
Ireland has received honorary degrees from [[Excelsior College]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees - Commencement - excelsior.edu|url=https://my.excelsior.edu/web/commencement/2013/honorary-degrees|website=my.excelsior.edu}}</ref> [[University of Massachusetts Boston]] <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.umb.edu/news/detail/congressman_seth_moulton_to_address_umass_boston_class_of_2016|title=Congressman Seth Moulton to Address UMass Boston Class of 2016}}</ref>
* [[Boston College Law School]] (2011)
* [[Boston University Law School]] (2012)
* [[Bunker Hill Community College]] (2001)
* [[City University of New York]] (2008)
* [[Curry College]] (1998)
* [[Excelsior College]] (2013)
* [[Lincoln University]] (2002)
* [[Massachusetts School of Law]] (2003)
* [[New England Law Boston]] (1992)
* [[Northeastern University School of Law]] (1998)
* [[Quincy College]] (1999)
* [[Roger Williams Law School]] (2015)
* [[Southern New England School of Law]] (2007)
* [[Stetson Law School]] (2016)
* [[Suffolk University Law School]] (1998)
* [[University of Massachusetts Boston]] (2016)
* [[Western New England School of Law]] (2004)<ref>Honorary degrees identified through personal correspondence with Ireland</ref>


==Books==
==Books==

Revision as of 02:54, 8 November 2018

Roderick L. Ireland
Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
In office
December 20, 2010 – July 25, 2014
Nominated byDeval Patrick
Preceded byMargaret H. Marshall
Succeeded byRalph Gants
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
In office
1997 – December 19, 2010
Nominated byWilliam Weld
Succeeded byFernande R.V. Duffly
Personal details
Born (1944-12-03) December 3, 1944 (age 80)
Springfield, Massachusetts
Alma materLincoln University
Columbia Law School
Harvard Law School
Northeastern University

Roderick L. Ireland 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]

Personal Life

Background

Ireland was born on December 3, 1944,[4] in Springfield, Massachusetts to Helen Garner Ireland,[5] an elementary school teacher from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and George Lovelace Ireland, a house painter from Springfield. He grew up on Terrence Street[6] in the Old Hill neighborhood, and attended Springfield public schools – The William N. DeBerry Elementary School, Buckingham Junior High School, and Classical High School. [7]

Ireland was an active member of Third Baptist Church, where his family had worshipped for years, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School. In addition, he was a respected contender at the Dunbar Community Center, where he seriously pursued his love of, and talent at, playing basketball. [8]

Personal life

Ireland is married to Alice Alexander. The now adult children from their previous marriages are Elizabeth and Michael (Ireland’s daughter and son), and Melanee (Alexander’s daughter). Ireland is a member of the Elliot Congregational Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts.[9]

Education

Ireland received his B.A. from Lincoln University, the first degree-granting HBCU in the nation (1966); J.D. from Columbia Law School (1969); LL.M. from Harvard Law School (1975); and Ph.D. in Law, Policy and Society from Northeastern University (1998). [10]

Bar Admissions

Ireland was admitted to practice in New York State (1970), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1971), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1971), and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1971). [11]

Roxbury Defenders Committee

In 1971, alongside Wallace Sherwood, Ireland formed the Roxbury Defenders Committee (also known as the Roxbury Defenders).[12] At the time, while the Massachusetts Defenders Committee did exist, Sherwood and Ireland felt there needed to be a site more local to Roxbury, a low income, predominately minority neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. However, as the committee was linked to the Massachusetts Defenders Committee, it received its funding from the same place: Massachusetts Committee for Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice.[citation needed]

Mission Statement

The mission of the Roxbury Defenders Committee was broken into three parts:

1. To provide vigorous and comprehensive service to the client population

2. To provide legal services without first being appointed by the court

3. To provide, on a referral basis, related social services.

In order to create more awareness of the services that they were offering, Sherwood and Ireland created the Legal Line, a weekly, one hour program on the radio station WILD, where they fielded questions from listeners as well as speaking on legal problems that arose during their proceedings.[citation needed]

Departure

Ireland left the Roxbury Defenders Committee in 1974.

Positions

In 1977, Ireland was nominated to the Boston Juvenile Court, and in 1990, to the Massachusetts Court of Appeals. He was appointed to both courts by Governor Michael Dukakis.

In 1997, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by Governor William Weld. He is the first African-American associate justice and also the first African-American chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. He resigned from the high court in 2014, and was replaced by Associate Justice Ralph Gants.

Chief Justice Ireland has served on the faculty of both Northeastern University School of Law and Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University.

Honors

Renamings

In 2015, the town of Springfield, Massachusetts renamed the street Ireland grew up on, Terence Street, to Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland Way in honor of Ireland.[citation needed]

In 2017, the Hampden County Hall of Justice was renamed the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse in honor of Ireland.

Honorary Degrees

Ireland has received honorary degrees from Excelsior College,[13] University of Massachusetts Boston [14]

Books

He is the author of Massachusetts Juvenile Law, a volume of the Massachusetts Practice Series.

References

  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. ^ https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/13/gov-patrick-picks-black-woman-for-supreme-judicial-court-geraldine-hines-veteran-state-judge/4WpDayySbQaEIfMAj97nAI/story.html
  4. ^ Today in Black History, 12/3/2014
  5. ^ "Helen Garner Ireland's Obituary on The Republican". The Republican.
  6. ^ "Springfield honors Justice Roderick Ireland with street name". WWLP.com. 30 June 2015.
  7. ^ Personal correspondence with Ireland
  8. ^ Personal correspondence with Ireland
  9. ^ "Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland" (PDF). Museum of African American History.
  10. ^ "Associate Justice Roderick L. Ireland". Mass.gov.
  11. ^ Personal correspondence with Ireland
  12. ^ Ireland, Roderick (June 2013). "Roxbury Defender's Committee: Reflections on the Early Years" (PDF). Massachusetts Law Review. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  13. ^ "Honorary Degrees - Commencement - excelsior.edu". my.excelsior.edu.
  14. ^ "Congressman Seth Moulton to Address UMass Boston Class of 2016".
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