PHOTO BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supreme Judicial Court justice nominee David Lowy, left, waits to be sworn in with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker at the State House in Boston.
By THOMAS GRILLO
BOSTON — Judge David Lowy was sworn in as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Judicial Court on Friday surrounded by hundreds of cheering friends and family at the State House.
“When I first met David Lowy, he was just another guy working in Gov. Weld’s legal department,” said Gov. Charlie Baker, who administered the oath. “But it wasn’t long before he set himself apart in a talented office. He brought a childish glee to work that was simply unbearable.
“I saw a man who had so much fun with the law. He was having a blast and loved every minute of it.”
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Lowy, a Marblehead resident, was one of three justices who were nominated to the SJC last summer that also included Kimberly Budd and Frank Gaziano.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who acknowledged that she didn’t know Lowy until recently, brought laughter to the House chamber during her speech.
“David Lowy doesn’t live on the edge,” she said. “But the times I’ve met with him I noticed that he sits at the edge of his chair and leans in, totally engaged. He will do that as Associate Justice to the Supreme Judicial Court.”
Weld, who hired a young Lowy in the 90s, said the judge has everything it takes to be a great justice.
“David Lowy is an unusual man; he’s the complete package,” Weld said. “He is so humble and unaffected that you could sit next him by chance at a baseball game and talk to him for hours and have no idea that he was a judge, a lawyer or a college graduate for that matter.
“But if you start talking jurisprudence, you better bring your A-game.”
In a sometimes emotional speech, Lowy thanked Baker and Polito for placing confidence in him.
“I love my job,” he said. “I don’t even consider it a job. It’s a labor of love.”
Perhaps the most poignant moment in the 90-minute ceremony came when Lowy mentioned his late father, Dr. Marvin Lowy who served as a family dentist in Boston from the 1960s until Parkinson’s forced him into an early retirement a decade ago.
“My father sat just a few feet away from this podium 19 years ago when I was sworn in as a District Court judge,” said Lowy as he choked back tears. “I wish I had told him that he was the single greatest influence in my life.”
Baker concluded his remarks by noting that Lowy’s best work is still ahead of him.
“David is someone who will do great things and be a great Justice of the Supreme Court,” Baker said.
Lowy brings a long resume to the SJC. Following graduation magna cum laude from Boston University Law School in 1987, he joined Goodwin, Procter & Hoar. He served as a law clerk to Judge Edward F. Harrington in the U.S. District Court.
He was also an assistant district attorney in Essex and Suffolk Counties and worked as deputy legal counsel to Gov. William Weld until 1995 where he met his wife, Virginia Buckingham, who worked down the hall from him in the Weld administration.
Lowy was first appointed to the bench in 1997 as a District Court Judge. In 2001, former Gov. Paul Cellucci nominated him as an Associate Justice in the Massachusetts Superior Court.
The Supreme Judicial Court is the Commonwealth’s highest appellate court. It consists of the Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven judges hear appeals on a broad range of criminal and civil cases and issue written opinions that are posted online.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].