Community reacts to judge's retirement

Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall made first historic ruling allowing legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Of the more than three hundred opinions authored by Chief Justice Margaret Marshall during her tenure as the second woman appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court, one must be particularly celebrated on the eve of her retirement.

"The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals," she wrote in 2003. "It forbids the creation of second-class citizens."

Marshall authored the court's majority decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that allowed legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts seven years ago. The ruling was the first of its kind in the nation, and its effects are still resounding throughout the country as other states debate marriage equality.

"We're saddened to see the end of the career of a distinguished jurist," read a statement from Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), whose Mary Bonauto advocated on behalf of the plaintiffs in Goodridge. "Chief Justice Marshall led a court that tackled many cases of importance to the LGBT and HIV communities, not the least of which was Goodridge."

Marshall, 66, announced her plans to retire in October of this year on July 21. At a news conference, Marshall said that her husband, former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and that she was retiring "so that Tony and I may enjoy our final seasons together."

Authoring an opinion in favor of same-sex marriage in 2003 was "a difficult thing to do at the time," Paula Harrington, Interim Executive Director of MassEquality, said, noting the political figures who opposed marriage equality at the time, including then Governor Mitt Romney. "I don't think anybody was really expecting it to come at that time. ...[W]ho knows how much longer it would've been before another opportunity like that would've come along?"

"[Marshall] had a lot of courage," E.J. Graff, author of What Is Marriage For? The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution (Beacon Press, 1999, 2004), told Bay Windows. "She had to know she was doing something significant; she released it in such a way that the first day of marriage rights would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Brown v.Board of Education decision."

Graff said that while authoring her book, she had "hope" regarding the advent of legal recognition of same-sex marriages. What is Marriage For? was reissued after the Goodridge case.

"For some of us who are a little older especially, I think it made us feel like full citizens, in a way we did not expect would ever happen. It made me cry; I couldn't believe how much it affected me, despite the fact that I'd been out since the Mesozoic Era," Graff said. "Within the borders of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we are practically full citizens. That's just breathtaking, really. For some of us who grew up in the dark ages, marriage was beyond inconceivable."

Harrington was working as the Executive Director of the ETC Development Corporation when the Goodridge decision came down. "For me, it was stunning because I had never stopped to think, 'Do I want to get married?' Just because it was not a possibility," she said. "We woke up to a whole new world."

At the news conference, Marshall, a native of South Africa, recalled the day she authored the Goodridge opinion, saying that several people stayed in the courtroom after the case had been resolved. "For them, the next case was just as important as the Goodridge case. ...For me, every case has that importance and you learn as a judge that certain cases spark interest and others don't. But the legal issues are important in each case," she said. While she acknowledged that her role in Goodridge was indeed important, Marshall said that she wishes to be remembered as well for the other rulings spanning her fourteen-year career. "I hope that when people look at the body of my opinions, they'll see that it was just not one opinion, but many opinions throughout my tenure."

"It has been a wonderfully rewarding experience for me to serve the people of Massachusetts as a Justice on this historic court, the oldest appellate court in continuous existence in our nation, which has long served to protect the rights of all of the people of this Commonwealth, impartially, fairly, equally," Chief Justice Marshall said in parting.

"Chief Justice Marshall and the Supreme Judicial Court profoundly changed the lives of our Commonwealth's gay and lesbian people -- providing not just the ability to marry, but a real sense of equal citizenship," the statement from GLAD read. "We wish Chief Justice Marshall and her family well in her retirement."