BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey today nominated John Fraser, Keren Goldenberg, Julie Green, Matthew Nestor and Deepika Shukla to the Massachusetts Superior Court. The nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.
“I’m proud to nominate these experienced attorneys to the Superior Court, and I’m confident they will make excellent additions to our justice system,” said Governor Healey. “We’re grateful to the Governor’s Council for their consideration of the nominees.”
“It’s clear that these nominees will make great additions to the Superior Court and we’re grateful that they are ready to continue their service to Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We are excited to work with the Governor’s Council as they consider these nominees for confirmation.”
The Superior Court is a trial court of general jurisdiction for Massachusetts and is committed to delivering high-quality justice with dignity and speed. The court’s 82 justices sit in 20 courthouses in all 14 state counties. The Superior Court has exclusive original jurisdiction of first-degree murder cases, and has original jurisdiction of all other crimes, civil actions over $50,000, matters where parties are seeking equitable relief, and actions including labor disputes where parties are seeking injunctive relief. The Superior Court also has exclusive authority to convene medical malpractice tribunals, has appellate jurisdiction over certain administrative proceedings, and may hold naturalization sittings in any city or town.
About the Nominees:
Matthew Nestor currently serves as an Associate Justice on the District Court, where he has presided over his own courtroom for nearly 20 years. He began his legal career as a civil litigator, then served as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County before being appointed as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth, overseeing the Securities Division prior to joining the bench. Judge Nestor has served as the Presiding Justice of the Peabody, Chelsea, and Lynn District Courts, as well as the Appellate Division of the District Court. Judge Nestor holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University, where he was Captain of the Football and Lacrosse teams, a Master of Science in Public Affairs from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. He currently resides in Reading.
John Fraseris a co-founder and the manager at Fraser Law Office, where he maintains an active trial practice in both criminal defense and civil litigation, having tried more than forty jury trials to conclusion. On the criminal side, he has represented clients charged with misdemeanors and felonies at both the District Court and Superior Court levels. On the civil side, his practice includes business formation, commercial litigation, personal injury, and product liability matters. Attorney Fraser holds a Bachelor of Science from University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School. He resides in Andover with his spouse and three children.
Keren Goldenberg is currently the principal attorney at the Law Offices of Keren Goldenberg. She practices criminal defense in the Massachusetts superior, district, and juvenile courts, and in federal court. Prior to that she was a trial attorney with the Committee for Public Services in Lowell and with the Legal Aid Society of New York City. Attorney Goldenberg is a member of the “murder list” for the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Criminal Justice Act panel for the United States District Court in Boston. Her practice also includes Title IX representation in colleges and universities. Attorney Goldenberg is a board member for the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and serves as secretary of the executive board. She is also a faculty advisor for the Trial Advocacy Workshop at Harvard Law School. Attorney Goldenberg holds a Bachelor of Science from University of Toronto and a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law. She currently resides in Belmont.
Julie Green is currently the Deputy Chief of the Constitutional & Administrative Law Division of the Government Bureau in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General with a focus on appellate, trial advocacy and public law. Attorney Green is responsible for representing the Commonwealth and its agencies at the Supreme Judicial Court, Appeals Court and the federal courts. Before joining the office of the Attorney Genral, Attorney Green practiced litigation at Todd & Weld LLP. She also clerked for the former Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit William Norris. Attorney Green holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
Deepika Shukla currently serves as an Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Springfield Branch Office at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. In this role, she supervises all federal criminal cases in Western Massachusetts and has represented the United States in criminal prosecutions of violations of excessive force, hate crime, terrorism, fraud, and violent crime statutes. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Western New England School of Law. Prior to these roles, she worked as a plaintiffs’ civil rights attorney at the Connecticut Fair Housing Center and in private practice. Attorney Shukla holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She currently resides in Northampton.
