SJC Justice, former partner of Governor Healey, took solemn oath of office

In a ceremony on June 10, 2024, Governor Maura Healey administered the Oath of Office in the Great Hall of the John Adams Courthouse, swearing in the Honorable Gabrielle R. Wolohojian as Associate Justice of the Court supreme judiciary. (Photo credit: Joshua Qualls of the Massachusetts Governor’s Office)

The new associate justice of the Bay State Supreme Judicial Court was solemnly sworn in by her ex-girlfriend Monday.

Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian was officially sworn in on April 22 and already fills the seat vacated by former Justice David Lowy, who retired from the court in February to serve as UMass’s chief counsel.

Gov. Maura Healey’s appointment of Wolohojian, a 16-year veteran of the state appeals court, has received widespread praise from legal professionals and the Governor’s Council – the elected body charged with ‘approve of the governor’s court choices — but her highly lauded legal career and accolades from countless colleagues were not discreet enough to eliminate recognition of her years-long romantic relationship with the governor.

In making the appointment, Healey said a past relationship with her should not deprive the Commonwealth of Wolohojian’s experience as a judge.

“Through her work, she has earned a place among our state’s most esteemed judges,” Healey said during Monday’s ceremony, before re-administering Wolohojian’s oath of office.

Wolohojian, first appointed to the appeals court by former Gov. Deval Patrick, earned a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University in 1982, a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford in 1987 and a JD from Columbia Law School in 1989.