Stanley Elroy Qua (August 26, 1880 – November 8, 1965) was a 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 1934 to 1956, serving as chief justice from 1947 to 1956 He was appointed by Governor

Joseph B. Ely Joseph Buell Ely (February 22, 1881 – June 13, 1956) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Massachusetts. As a conservative Democrat, Ely was active in party politics from the late 1910s, helping to build, in conjunction with ...

, and elevated to Chief Justice by Governor

Robert F. Bradford Robert Fiske Bradford (December 15, 1902 – March 18, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 57th Governor of Massachusetts, from 1947 to 1949. Early years Robert Fiske Bra ...

. Born in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, Qua was the son of Francis W. Qua, a local lawyer who practiced in Lowell and served his community as City Solicitor for many years, and Alice Lelia Harder.Massachusetts Court System biography of Stanley Elroy Qua
Qua attended Lowell Public Schools, then graduated with honors from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1901, where he was accepted in the

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

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 ...

in 1904. He began his legal career with his father's law firm, which is still in existence today as Qua, Hall, Harvey & Walsh in Chelmsford, MA, where he practiced for 17 years with his father and brother, and upon his death bequeathed his personal law library back to the firm. Qua served as an Alderman and a City Councillor in Lowell before eventually being selected for the Superior Court in 1921 and later elevated to the Supreme Court.

References

Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 1880 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American judges Massachusetts Superior Court justices {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub