Over the past few months, after a bipartisan push and series of nominations by the governor, multiple western Mass. Superior Court vacancies have been filled, says a member of the Governor's Council overseeing judge confirmations.
It was mid-August when the Governor’s Council, led by Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, unanimously approved the appointment of Thomas Townsend to the state’s Superior Court.
Towsend had been serving as Chief of the Appellate Division of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office when the Longmeadow resident was nominated in July.
According to Governor’s Council Member Tara Jacobs of North Adams, inducting the associate justice marks an important milestone, achieved months after Jacobs and local lawmakers flagged a growing issue in the courts.
“We were in an urgent kind of crisis state, here in Western Mass. with our superior court - we had five judicial seats that were vacant, and while the trial courts did what they could do to send us people to help, it still meant that our Superior Court judges were under enormous pressure,” Jacobs recently told WAMC. “They were overburdened, they were working at a pace to keep the mechanisms of justice flowing, but they were putting in the kind of hours that are just not sustainable from a human standpoint.”
As WAMC previously reported, of the 11 superior court seats for western Mass. – Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties – at least four were vacant when Jacobs and state lawmakers in March called on the Healey administration to step up nominations.
Another vacancy would follow, totaling five, but so too did nominations from the Healey administration. Five would ultimately be confirmed by the council, a step toward alleviating court case bottlenecks in the area, as reported by outlets like The Daily Hampshire Gazette and Springfield Republican reported.
Speaking with WAMC in April, Driscoll said a lack of applications and steady stream of judges hitting retirement age played a role in the climbing vacancies.
Jacobs, whose Governor’s Council work includes interviewing and confirming judge nominees, says it’s a matter of time before empty seats emerge again. But for now – relief.
“Frankly, it's the first time in a very long time that Western Mass. Superior Court hasn't had any openings,” she said. “I don't know how long that will last, because … it's the nature of the beast. Judges have a mandatory retirement age of 70, and we keep getting new retirements to add to our vacancies, so, for this moment, I can be very proud to say it's filled and we'll see how long that lasts.”
The Healey administration also confirmed for WAMC that all Superior Court vacancies in western Mass. have been filled. As of mid-July, Governor Maura Healey appears to have nominated at least 18 judges to fill Superior Court vacancies across the state.
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This piece originally aired on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025.
