Martha B. Sosman (October 20, 1950 – March 10, 2007) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer and jurist from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Appointed by Governor

Paul Cellucci Argeo Paul Cellucci (; April 24, 1948 – June 8, 2013) was an American politician and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Republican, he served as the 69th governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001, and as the United States Amb ...

, she served as 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 ...

from 2000 until her death. Sosman was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1950 and grew up in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. Sosman graduated from Concord-Carlisle Regional High School in 1968, from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

''cum laude'' in 1972, and from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

''magna cum laude'' in 1979. Sosman worked as an attorney with

Foley, Hoag & Eliot Foley Hoag LLP (formerly Foley, Hoag & Eliot LLP) is a law firm headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in New York City, Paris, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents public and private clients in a wide range of disputes and transactio ...

in Boston from 1979 to 1984 before becoming an

Assistant U.S. Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for two years. Following this, Sosman was chief of the Civil Division at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts in Boston, serving from 1986 to 1989. In 1989, Sosman left government service to become a founder of Kern, Sosman, Hagerty, Roach & Carpenter, P.C. with three other Assistant U.S. Attorneys. This was the first all-woman law firm in Massachusetts. Sosman became an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Superior Court The Massachusetts Superior Court (also known as the Superior Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court department in Massachusetts. The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $50,000, and in matters where equita ...

in 1993, and was recruited for the bench by Justice Robert J. Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Governor Paul Cellucci nominated Sosman to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on September 6, 2000 at the age of 49. Sosman was one of three justices to dissent in the ''

Goodridge v. Department of Public Health ''Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health'', 798 N.E.2d 941 ( Mass. 2003), is a landmark Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case in which the Court held that the Massachusetts Constitution requires the state to legally recognize same-sex marria ...

'' case, which legalized

same-sex marriage in Massachusetts Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts has been legally recognized since May 17, 2004, as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling in ''Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'' that it was unconstitutional under the Massa ...

. On July 20, 2004, Sosman was outed as a closeted lesbian by

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personality Bill O'Reilly. He pointed out that Sosman, dissented in the ''Goodridge'' case. In April 2005, Sosman was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. She died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

nearly two years later. Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

appointed Margot Botsford as Sosman's successor on July 26, 2007.Margot Botsford SJC Pick
, ''Massachusetts Law Updates'', July 27, 2007

References

1950 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges Deaths from respiratory failure Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Massachusetts Superior Court justices Middlebury College alumni People associated with Foley Hoag University of Michigan Law School alumni {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub