Patrick Nominates First Openly Gay Justice To SJC
BOSTON (AP) - Gov. Deval Patrick has tapped Barbara Lenk, who would be the first openly gay Supreme Judicial Court justice, to fill an open slot on Massachusetts' highest court.
Patrick nominated Lenk, a state appellate court justice, on Monday.
In a statement, Patrick called Lenk a "brilliant and thoughtful jurist, with a deep sense of justice."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports.
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Lenk was appointed to the Superior Court by former Gov. William Weld in 1993 and was named to the appeals court in 1995.
She was selected by Patrick to succeed Judith Cowin, who announced in January that she planned to retire this month.
All judicial nominations must be approved by the Governor's Council.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
