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 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 Edward F. Hennessey (April 19, 1919 – March 8, 2007) was the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1976 to 1989. Biography Born in South Boston, he moved with his family to Newton at age 6. His mother worked in a factor ...

, 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. She won the convention nomination and defeated Guy Carbone 71% to 29% in the Republican Primary. She lost the general election to Scott Harshbarger 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 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, 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)