Ralph Gants

Ralph D. Gants (September 29, 1954 – September 14, 2020) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He was sworn in on July 28, 2014. Gants had previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney.

Early life and career Gants was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1954. He received his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Harvard College in 1976, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. The following year he completed a Diploma in Criminology at Cambridge University in England. In 1980, he earned a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School where he was notes editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Career After graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to United States District Court Judge Eugene H. Nickerson. In 1983, he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, serving as Chief of Public Corruption Division from 1988 to 1991. He taught at Harvard Law School, New England School of Law, and Northeastern University School of Law.

Judicial service He was appointed as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court in 1997 by Governor Bill Weld. after being confirmed by the Governor's Council. On April 17, 2014, he was nominated by Governor Patrick to replace Roderick L. Ireland as Chief Justice after his retirement; he was confirmed by the Governor's Council and was sworn in on July 28, 2014.

In April 2020, Grants wrote a concurrence arguing against a bright line rule defining where use of automatic number-plate recognition cameras becomes an unconstitutional search when the unanimous court upheld their warrantless use on bridges to Cape Cod.

Personal life and death Justice Gants was married with two children. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts closed the courts on Friday, September 18, 2020, as a day of remembrance for Chief Justice Gants.