Janis M. Berry is an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the same ...

from 2001 to 2016.

Early life

Berry was born and raised in Everett, Massachusetts. Her father was a dump truck driver and her mother worked as a factory meat packer. In the 1960s she moved to Saugus, Massachusetts. She graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

Attorney

In the mid-1970s she served as law clerk to Edward F. Hennessey, an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

. She later served for six years as a federal prosecutor, which included working as Chief of the U.S. Justice Department's New England Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. In 1986 she was named a partner at Ropes & Gray. From 1986 to 1991 she was also a board member of the Supreme Judicial Court's Committee on Public Counsel Services. She served on the Governor's Judicial Nominating Council and the Board of Bar Overseers as well. From 1997 to 2000 she was a partner at Rubin and Rudman LLC.

Politics

In 1994, Berry resigned from Ropes & Gray to run for

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...

. She won the convention nomination and defeated

Guy Carbone Guy A. Carbone is an American attorney and Perennial candidate in Massachusetts who was Metropolitan District Commissioner from 1979–1980. Electoral history Other races *Massachusetts gubernatori ...

71% to 29% in the Republican Primary. She lost the general election to

Scott Harshbarger Luther Scott Harshbarger (born December 1, 1941) is an American attorney and Democratic politician. He served as the 56th Massachusetts Attorney General from 1991 to 1999. In 1998, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts but l ...

70% to 30%.

Judicial career

In December 2000 she was nominated by Governor Paul Cellucci to serve on the Massachusetts Appeals Court. She was confirmed by the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

and sworn in on February 28, 2001. In addition to serving on the Massachusetts Appeals Court, Berry has also served as chairperson of a U.S. Magistrate Selection Panel and worked as an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law,

Northeastern University School of Law Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as an evening program to meet the needs of its local community, NUSL is nationally recognized for its cooperative legal ed ...

, and

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...

. She also has been an instructor at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and the U.S. Department of Justice Advocacy Institute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Janis M. Boston University alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Boston University School of Law faculty Massachusetts Republicans Northeastern University faculty Politicians from Everett, Massachusetts People from Saugus, Massachusetts Suffolk University Law School faculty Living people Judges of the Massachusetts Appeals Court People associated with Ropes & Gray Year of birth missing (living people)