Gov.Charlie Baker this week announced the nomination of James Budreau as Associate Justice of the Superior Court. Budreau, a JP resident has been involved in youth sports and the Main Streets programs in the neighborhood for many years.
Attorney Budreau is a partner at Basil & Budreau, and has extensive legal experience, being a partner in the firm since 2013.
“Whether in public service or private practice, Attorney Budreau has demonstrated a strong commitment to the community,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Should he be confirmed, I am confident his legal experience will serve the Commonwealth well on the Superior Court.”
Attorney Budreau specializes in both criminal and appellate law, as well as plaintiff employment, Title IX and tort defense issues. Prior to Basil & Budreau, he worked in his own law office from 1994 to 2013, practicing in criminal settings with a concentration on homicide cases that involved juveniles. For two years starting in 2008, he was a member of the criminal section of the Boston Bar Association, where he developed teaching materials for the group. He taught employment law from 2003 to 2004 at Harvard University School of Law’s Hale and Dorr Legal Clinic. Prior to his own firm, he worked at the Law Offices of Blake Godbout as an associate in civil practice from 1989 to 1990. He began his legal career as a law clerk in the Massachusetts Superior Court, a position he held from 1988 to 1989. Budreau earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1983 before graduating from the Northeastern University School of Law in 1988. He is a former youth baseball coach, lending his talents on the diamond in 2019 to the Jamaica Plain Regan League. From 2012 to 2017, he sat on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, working on education and community outreach initiatives. He was also a Jamaica Plain Centre-South board member from 2014 to 2016, where he worked on efforts to grow local business.
The Superior Court, the trial court of general jurisdiction for Massachusetts, is committed to delivering high quality justice in a timely and fair manner in accordance with the rule of law. The Court’s 82 justices sit in 20 courthouses in all 14 counties of the Commonwealth. The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $25,000 and in matters where equitable relief is sought. It also has original jurisdiction in actions including labor disputes where injunctive relief is sought, exclusive authority to convene medical malpractice tribunals, appellate jurisdiction over certain administrative proceedings, and may hold sittings for naturalization in any city or town. The Superior Court also has exclusive original jurisdiction of first-degree murder cases and original jurisdiction of all other crimes. If confirmed by the Governor’s Council, Attorney Budreau will fill the seat vacated by the Honorable Mitchell Kaplan.
Judicial nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the Governor’s Council. Applicants for judicial openings are reviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) and recommended to the governor. Governor Baker established the JNC in February 2015 pursuant to Executive Order 558, a non-partisan, non-political Commission composed of volunteers from a cross-section of the Commonwealth’s diverse population to screen judicial applications. Twenty-one members were later appointed to the JNC in April 2015.