Supreme Judicial Court Justice Elspeth Cypher to retire, state officials say

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Elspeth Cypher will retire from the court in January, state officials said.

Cypher, a former Bristol County prosecutor who was appointed by former Gov. Charlie Baker, informed Gov. Maura Healey on Monday of her plans to retire on Jan. 12, 2024, state officials said.

Cypher was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court on March 31, 2017.

“I have been privileged to have served the Commonwealth as an appellate justice for over 23 years,” Cypher said in a statement. “I have been humbled and honored by Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito for nominating me to the Supreme Judicial Court and by the Governor’s Council for approving the nomination. I am also deeply grateful to Governor Cellucci and Lt. Governor Swift for entrusting me with the position of associate justice on the Appeals Court.”

“I have served with wonderful, collaborative colleagues, and an outstanding staff, all committed to excellence in furtherance of the mission of ensuring fair, impartial, and timely justice for everyone who appears before the courts,” Cypher said. “No judicial career is achieved alone. I have benefited from the enduring support of my family and friends, and I have learned from the many wonderful teachers, mentors, colleagues, law clerks, support staff, and students I have had the opportunity to work with. I am looking forward to pursuing my love of teaching as a Huber Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Boston College Law School in the spring semester of 2024.”

In a statement, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly Budd said Cypher “has brought her keen knowledge of the law and the constitution to the appellate courts for over two decades, serving on the Supreme Judicial Court for the past six years.”

“She has been an exceptional friend and colleague and an active role model to the many people who count her as a mentor,” Budd said. “We are deeply grateful for her service to the people of the Commonwealth.”

Cypher was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1959. She received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Emerson College in 1980 and a J.D., cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School in 1986, where she served on the Suffolk University Law Review, according to biographical information provided by the state.

From 1986 to 1988, she was an associate at the Boston law firm of Grayer, Brown and Dilday. In 1988 she became an Assistant District Attorney in Bristol County, where she served for the next twelve years. From 1993 to 2000, she was chief of the Appellate Division of that office and argued many cases before the Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court.

On December 27, 2000, then-Gov. Paul Cellucci appointed her to the Massachusetts Appeals Court as an Associate Justice.

Cypher has been an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School. Prior to that, she taught for many years at the University of Massachusetts School of Law. She received an honorary PhD from Emerson College in 2017, an honorary J.D. from UMass in 2018, and, most recently, the Marilyn Archer Trailblazer Award in 2022.

Over the years, Cypher has written extensively about developments in criminal law in the Commonwealth. Active in the Massachusetts Bar Association, Justice Cypher has served as co-chair of its criminal law section. She was the recipient of the Green Bag’s Exemplary Legal Writing award in 2018, and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Lawyer of the Year Award in 2000.

In 2012, Justice Kent B. Smith asked her to co-author a fourth edition of his books in the Massachusetts Practice Series, Criminal Practice and Procedure. Before his death, she assumed responsibility for the supplement in 2013 and for the fourth edition, which was published in 2014. Each year, she updates the annual supplement and plans to continue to do so, according to the state.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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