Panel is asked to suggest names for SJC
Field 'wide open' to replace Sosman
Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday that he has asked a commission to recommend six to eight candidates to succeed Supreme Judicial Court Justice Martha B. Sosman, who died March 10.
Patrick announced he had completed appointing the 21-member Judicial Nominating Commission and had directed the panel to immediately begin considering candidates to succeed Sosman. It would be the governor's first judicial appointment.
"The work of the Supreme Judicial Court is essential to protecting the rights of our citizens and preserving our constitutional democracy," he said in a statement. "We are committed to finding a nominee of the highest credentials to fill this important role."
Patrick said the commission will accept applications for the high court through April 24. After the panel makes recommendations, Patrick is expected to select a potential nominee. If he follows the practice of past governors, he would also probably consult with a joint committee on judicial appointments made up of members of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association. Then he would submit his nominee to the Governor's Council for approval.
Ben Clements, the governor's chief legal counsel, said he had no timetable for when Patrick will submit his nomination.
"As the date gets closer, the governor will give the JNC guidance as to when it should submit its recommendations," Clements said.
Herbert P. Wilkins, who retired as chief justice of the court in 1999, said that Patrick might want to appoint a woman to succeed Sosman, one of three female jurists on the seven-member court. But he said appointing the ablest lawyer trumps all other considerations, including gender, race, judicial experience, or what part of the state the candidate came from.
"No one pops out to me as a leading candidate," said Wilkins, whose father was also chief justice of the SJC. "I think the field is wide open to him."
Sosman died this month of respiratory failure.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com. 