Six justices: Worcester lawyer Jennifer Currie to fill long-vacant juvenile court seat

WORCESTER — Worcester lawyer Jennifer Currie was confirmed by the Governor’s Council to a judgeship in Worcester Juvenile Court last week, marking the first time since funding for a new position was approved in 2018 that the court will reliably have six justices.

“I definitely think it’s going to have a positive impact,” state Sen. Michael O. Moore, D-Millbury, told the Telegram & Gazette Tuesday.

Currie was approved for the seat Feb. 14.

Moore, with urging from the juvenile court and a Worcester nonprofit, successfully fought to add funding for a sixth judgeship in Worcester County in 2018.

However, a combination of retirements and a slow nominating process under former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has left the number of judges, which advocates said was in sore need, at five and, for a time, four.

Moore said he was disappointed how long the appointment took — “the Baker administration was very slow,” he said — but grateful to Democrat Gov. Maura T. Healey and her team for nominating Currie.

Healey presided over the Feb. 14 meeting, video shows, in which the Governor’s Council unanimously approved Currie, a lawyer from the town of Harvard who works with the Worcester firm Ricciardi & Ricciardi.

“With your nomination today, this is the first time there will be a long-term, stable, full bench of juvenile justices,” Governor’s Councilor Paul M. DePalo, who represents Worcester and dozens of other county communities, told Healey.

“We’re extraordinarily grateful to have a nominee who knows Worcester, knows Fitchburg, knows the resources in our community,” DePalo said. “It’s a great win for the children and families in Central Mass.”

Julie Bowditch, executive director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children), a nonprofit that was among those calling for more judgeships in 2018, thanked DePalo and Moore for their work.

“We’re really excited that we’re finally going to have the position filled,” said Bowditch, whose agency advocates for foster children during custody proceedings in the handful of county courts including Worcester, that hear juvenile cases.

Bowditch said the appointment will not be a “magic button” that will solve a number of problems in the juvenile courts including a lack of attorneys trained to take juvenile cases, but that it can only help.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” she said, adding that she believes Currie was the most qualified applicant.

At the Feb. 14 meeting, Governor’s Councilor Marilyn Devaney said she believed Currie knocked her nominating interview “out of the park,” and had more experience and qualifications than other candidates.

In announcing her nomination in December, Healey noted Currie has spent much of her 16-year career specializing in juvenile justice issues and that many of her clients are among the city’s poorest residents.

“She is deeply committed to her work and has significant experience supporting both children, families and attorneys involved with the Juvenile Court and the Department of Children and Families in Worcester County, which will serve her well in this new position on the Juvenile Court,” Healey said at the time.

Healey noted that Currie has worked with the Committee for Public Counsel Services since 2008 and has spent the last four years serving as the Worcester Juvenile Court supervising attorney.

In 2017 through 2020, Currie was named one of the “40 Under 40” top lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers organization.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester lawyer Jennifer Currie fills long-vacant juvenile court seat