(Newsworthy.news) – The governor of Massachusetts has nominated a woman with whom she was previously in a romantic relationship to be a judge on the Supreme Judicial Court of the state.
Gov. Maura Healey, a Democratic attorney who has been governing the Bay State since 2023, recently nominated Gabrielle Wolohojian to join the top court in Massachusetts. Wolohojian, who is an associate justice with the state Court of Appeals, lived with Healey previously. The two first announced their relationship in 2013, coinciding with Healey’s campaign for attorney general.
The governor officially nominated her former partner to take a position as an associate justice of the state’s highest court on February 7, marking the second time Healey made a nomination to the Supreme Judicial Court.
Healey said per a press release that nobody is “more qualified or better prepared” to assume the role than Wolohojian, citing her friend’s decades of experience in both trial and appellate courts and “strong commitment” to delivering justice.
Wolohojian has been serving as a judge on the Massachusetts Court of Appeals starting in 2008. The two women were in a relationship starting in 2007 after they met while working at the Hale and Dorr law firm.
Healey conceded to having had “a personal relationship” with her nominee “for many years,” but said that supported her decision since she knew that Wolohojian had “character” and “integrity.” She also expressed hopes that her previous relationship with her pick doesn’t “deprive the Commonwealth” of being served by the “most qualified” candidate.
The governor emphasized that her nomination of her former partner was backed unanimously by the five members of the Judicial Nominating Commission.
However, Healey’s recommendation of a former romantic partner was criticized by Amy Carnevale, the Massachusetts Republican Party chair, who called it “highly inappropriate.”
Final approval of Wolohojian’s nomination is set to be decided in a February 21 confirmation hearing with the Governor’s Council.
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