Baker’s SJC pick Cypher promises to practice ‘strong jurisprudence’
A longtime appellate judge nominated to the state’s highest court yesterday says if confirmed, she will aim to protect civil liberties and practice “strong jurisprudence,” and is drawing praise from Chief Justice Ralph Gants.
“My approach is always to look at the case in front of me, examine the facts, examine the record, look at the law and then go where that takes me,” Appeals Court Judge Elspeth “Ellie” B. Cypher told reporters yesterday. “At the Supreme Judicial Court, the opinions that they issue have vast impact.”
Cypher, who has been on the appeals court since 2000, was introduced yesterday at the State House by Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. If confirmed by the Governor’s Council, she will become the fourth SJC justice picked by Baker since 2014 — and the first with any experience on the appellate bench.
“She is highly regarded in the appeals court, and is known as a very, very fine colleague, and I am looking forward to working with her,” said Gants, who has led the seven-judge court through its massive overhaul.
Cypher would succeed Justice Margot Botsford, a Gov. Deval Patrick nominee who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in March.
“She is a very hard worker and she is very dedicated to the courts and to the law,” Botsford told the Herald. “She is very smart, and I think she will be a great addition to the court.”
Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the SJC does not typically have political divides that shape case law. Baker, who will also be tasked with finding a replacement for Justice Geraldine Hines this year, said he respects the neutrality of the court.
“It’s a group and a body that’s demonstrated over time that they have a tremendous capacity to influence one another and to be influenced by one another,” Baker said. “And I think that’s its greatest strength, and I don’t think about it as a left court, a centrist court, a right court.”
Justices Kimberly Budd, Frank Gaziano and David Lowy — superior court judges who were nominated by Baker last year — all were approved unanimously by the Governor’s Council. Cypher is expected to have her hearing in front of the council March 1.
Prior to her time on the bench, Cypher was a longtime prosecutor in Bristol County. She was with the office for 12 years before the late former Gov. A. Paul Cellucci appointed her to the appeals court.
She graduated from Emerson College in 1980 and from Suffolk University Law School in 1986.