Judicial pioneer named to receive Thurgood Marshall Award from ABA

The American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities will honor Margaret H. Marshall, former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, with its Thurgood Marshall Award at 8 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Westin Copley Place hotel in Boston. The award, which recognizes members of the legal profession for their long-term contributions to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties and human rights in the United States, will be presented at the Thurgood Marshall Award Dinner during the ABA Annual Meeting.

Marshall was the first woman to hold the position of chief justice to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. She was appointed to this position by Governor Paul Cellucci in 1999 and served in this capacity until she retired in 2010. While serving on the bench, she was responsible for making Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage and for authoring substantial and long-term contributions to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties and human rights in the United States.

Marshall wrote the landmark decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which ruled that the Massachusetts constitution did not allow the state to deny citizens the right to same-sex marriage. This case made Marshall the first U.S. judge in a state’s highest court to find that same-sex couples had the right to marry.

After retiring from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Marshall joined Choate, Hall & Stewart in January 2012 as senior counsel, where she focuses on the firm’s extensive community outreach, pro bono and diversity programs, mentors lawyers and provides senior-level counsel to clients on special projects.

Marshall was born and raised in South Africa and while in college, led the National Union of South African Students, which was dedicated to ending oppressive minority rule and achieving equality for all South Africans. She continued to challenge the apartheid regime after coming to the United States. She earned an M.A. in Education at Harvard University and a J.D. at Yale Law School.

More than 400 members of the bench and bar associations from around the world will come together to honor Marshall. Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and civil rights activist, will deliver the keynote remarks.

The ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities provides leadership within the legal profession in protecting and advancing human rights, civil liberties and social justice. Representing nearly 10,000 members with a wide range of professional interests, the section keeps its members abreast of complex civil rights and civil liberties issues and ensures that the protection of individual rights remain a focus of legal and policy discussion.