GREENFIELD — The 38th chief justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court visited the Franklin County Justice Center on Tuesday as part of a larger tour of Massachusetts courthouses to make herself more visible and meet with local officials.

Kimberly S. Budd explored the $66 million building at 43 Hope St. in her paternal grandmother’s hometown seven months after visiting Pittsfield for the same reason.

“It’s just nice to see the courthouses of the state and make sure they know we care about them, we think they’re doing a great job, and also hear what they have to say about how things are going,” she said sitting in a third-floor hearing room. “I think they appreciate my coming to visit and seeing what they’ve got going on out here, for the most part. People … are just happy to know that we’re thinking about them. Here in particular, everybody loves this new courthouse.

“It’s really lovely,” Budd continued. “It’s beautiful. And I think they’re really happy with it as well.”

Budd, the first Black woman to hold her position, visited with judges as well as court officers and staff members of the Juvenile, Probate and Family, Housing, Superior and District court departments. She also met privately with local dignitaries, including Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan and Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan.

“I had the opportunity to sit down with Chief Justice Budd and have a conversation about the transformational work we are doing at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office,” Donelan later said in a statement. “It was a great conversation, and I feel honored to have met her and given her some insight into how forward-thinking and collaborative we are in Franklin County. We are leading the state in delivery of justice and she clearly heard that.”

Budd, who lives in Newton, told the Greenfield Recorder that in visiting western Massachusetts courthouses she has heard similar concerns about a lack of accessible transportation and the number of lawyers who are available to take cases.

The guest of honor is the daughter of Wayne A. Budd, a Springfield native who served as U.S. attorney in Massachusetts from 1989 to 1992, and the granddaughter of the late Joseph A. Budd, Springfield’s first Black police officer. She said the seven-member Supreme Judicial Court is now quite diverse, in stark contrast to the ways of the past.

“Every time I talk to my dad, he’s like, ‘You don’t understand — back when I was coming up, it was just seven old white men that were looking down at you,’” she recounted. “I think it continues to blow his mind.”

Budd earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Georgetown University and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1991, the same year she was admitted to the bar. She began her legal career as a law clerk to Chief Justice Joseph P. Warner, of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and was a litigation associate at the law firm Mintz Levin before serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts in the major crimes and drug units. She was later an attorney for Harvard University and then served as Community Values program director at Harvard Business School, handling student disciplinary matters. She said this job was more conducive to having two young children and a husband who traveled a lot for work.

Budd explained she decided to pursue a judgeship in 2009 after Barack Obama, her former classmate at Harvard Law School, was elected president of the United States. She recalled the future president’s ability to bring together opposing sides at the Harvard Law Review, where he was the first Black president.

“That really just sort of gave me the push to apply,” she recounted. “Seeing my classmate become president sort of spurred me to think bigger, you know? So I did, and I’m thrilled.”

Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Budd as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court in 2009. She was appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2016 and became chief justice in 2020 following the sudden death of Ralph Gants, who she said was a great mentor and friend.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

]]>