Judge Charles Stephen Bolster (1894–1993) was a judge at the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

East Cambridge, Massachusetts East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Bro ...

and a long-time resident of

Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

who is best known for his involvement in the case of the

Boston Strangler The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, ...

The Boston Strangler

Judge Bolster oversaw one of the Boston Strangler cases (as it was later concluded that the murders were likely committed by multiple individuals) beginning November 7, 1963. On the morning of November 22, Judge Bolster addressed the jury. The following day, Roy Smith was convicted. Supposedly, a large number of jurors were from Kennedy's original congressional district and some were crying. After the JFK assassination, most judges suspended juries. Saying that the assassination announcement and juries grief caused the guilty verdict, the defense attempted to appeal.

Bolster Day

Each year on Southport Island, near Boothbay Harbor, Maine, The Southport Island Association hosts Bolster Day in memory of the judge.

Membership

In 1970 Judge Bolster became a member of the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

by right of his descent from Surgeon's Mate Timothy Hall of the 5th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

External links

"Bolster Day""Alone with the Strangler: Politics & Power"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolster Massachusetts Superior Court justices 1894 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American judges