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News from the Courts

Issue April 2015

Dugan appointed to Commission on Judicial Conduct

Trial Court Chief Justice Paula M. Carey recently announced the appointment of John Dugan as an alternate member to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, effective March 9. The term will expire on March 8, 2021.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct, established in 1978, investigates allegations of misconduct by state judges. Pursuant to G.L. c.211 §1, three judges are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, three attorneys are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Trial Court and three lay persons are appointed by the governor to six-year terms.

Dugan is a principal at the law firm of Doherty, Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon in Franklin. His practice includes a concentration in estate planning, fiduciary administration and probate/fiduciary litigation and he is a frequent lecturer on these topics. He is a past MBA vice president and past chair of the MBA's Probate Law Section Council. He is also past president of the Norfolk Bar Association, the Western Norfolk Bar Association and former town moderator and vice chair of the Millis Charter Commission. Attorney Dugan is a graduate of Holy Cross and Suffolk University Law School.

Quinn appointed deputy court administrator for the Superior Court

Superior Court Chief Justice Judith Fabricant and Trial Court Administrator Harry Spence recently announced the appointment of Elaina Martina Quinn as deputy court administrator for the Superior Court department of the Massachusetts Trial Court.

Quinn has served for the past 14 years as an assistant clerk in the office of Suffolk County Clerk of Courts for Civil Business, Michael Joseph Donovan. In that capacity, she has served on the Superior Court MassCourts Implementation Committee and the MassCourts Governance Committee, contributing her substantial knowledge of Superior Court civil operations, as well as her commitment to improvement of court processes. In 2013, she received the Excellence in Court Administration Award from the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.

Prior to her service in the clerk's office, Quinn served as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex and Norfolk counties, prosecuting cases in both the district court and the Superior Court and mentoring district court prosecutors. Quinn earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and her law degree from Suffolk University Law School.    

CORRECTION: In last month's story about the retirement of Bankruptcy Judge William Hillman, the print edition mistakenly featured a photo of the U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman. The error has been corrected in the online edition.