Fred Tarbell Field (December 24, 1876 – July 23, 1950) was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from January 30, 1929 until he became chief justice on June 30, 1938, serving in that capacity until his resignation on July 24, 1947.Massachusetts Court System page on Fred Tarbell Field
He was appointed by Governor

Charles F. Hurley Charles Francis Hurley (November 24, 1893 – March 24, 1946) was an American attorney and the 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and one of its first Irish-American governors. Early years Charles Francis Hurley was born in Cambr ...

. When

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...

retired from

the Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1932, Field may have been considered by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

as a possible replacement; however, the seat went to

Benjamin N. Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his deat ...

.Nemacheck, Christine L.; ''Strategic Selection: Presidential Nomination of Supreme Court Justices from Herbert Hoover Through George W. Bush'', pp. 147-148 Born and raised in

Springfield, Vermont Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,062. History The land currently recognized as Springfield is the traditional land of the Pennacook and Abenaki people. One of the ...

and graduated from

Vermont Academy Vermont Academy (VA) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory, boarding and day school in Saxtons River, Vermont, serving students from ninth through twelfth grade, as well as postgraduates. Founded in 1876, the campus was listed on t ...

in 1895, Field read law to gain admission to the Massachusetts State Bar. He was the nephew of Walbridge Abner Field, who was also an associate justice and chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Following his admission to the Bar, Field worked in the office of

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

Herbert Parker as a law clerk from 1903 to 1904, and as an assistant attorney general from 1905 to 1912, working in the subsequent administrations of Attorneys General

Dana Malone Dana Malone (October 8, 1857 – August 14, 1917) was an American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1893 to 1894 and a member of the Massachusetts Senate from 1895 to 1896, District Attorney for ...

and James M. Swift. He then entered private practice in association with Parker 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 ...

. From 1918 to 1919, Field was a member of the legal staff in the Bureau of Internal Revenue, during which time he helped organize the Advisory Tax Board of the Treasury Department. In 1919, Field returned to Boston and became a partner in the firm of Goodwin, Procter, Field and Hoar, where he remained until his appointment to the state supreme court.

References

1950 deaths 1876 births Vermont Academy alumni Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub