Serge Georges Jr. unanimously confirmed to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

The Governor’s Council on Wednesday approved the nomination of Boston Municipal Court Serge Georges Jr. to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, a rare feat for a district court judge.

The council unanimously voted to confirm Georges, 50, to the high court during a brief assembly Wednesday morning.

Georges is the last of a series of nominees Gov. Charlie picked to fill out the state’s highest court after the death of Chief Justice Ralph Gants. The council confirmed SJC Judge Kimberly Budd as the new chief justice and approved the nomination of Appeals Court Judge Dalila Argaez Wendlandt to the SJC.

Before voting, the councilors lauded Georges’ experience with municipal courts, real estate law and evictions.

Councilor Joseph Ferreira said Georges was the perfect fit for the SJC.

“He brings a breadth of experience and someone who grew up in the inner city as a person of color brings something great to the court. I think he rounds out the court perfectly,” he said.

Gov. Charlie Baker called Georges “a talented and highly distinguished jurist who has demonstrated his tremendous legal acumen and compassion throughout his career serving on the district court, the drug court and in private practice.”

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who has presided over the recent SJC hearings, thanked the councilors for considering Georges and the other recent SJC nominees.

“I am honored to congratulate Judge Serge Georges Jr. on his unanimous confirmation to the Supreme Judicial Court and am confident that his real world experience and wide range of expertise will be a valuable addition to the Commonwealth’s highest court,” she said.

A Dorchester native, Georges grew up in a family of five with Haitian parents who opted to send their children to Catholic school instead of saving for a downpayment on a house.

Four decades later, Georges is a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk University Law School. He teaches Suffolk law students when he’s not overseeing the Dorchester Drug Court.

Georges’ colleagues and mentors lauded his ability to dig deep into complex topics as an attorney, including real estate law, and his ability to inspire his students and his contemporaries. One attorney publicly questioned his experience in a letter sent to the council, but the judge got rave reviews from former U.S. Sen. Mo Cowan, Suffolk University Law School Dean Andrew Perlman and others.

James B. Krasnoo, an Andover-based attorney, told the councilors during the confirmation hearing about how Georges brought his own research to inform the parties, and in turn himself as he weighed in on the role of evidence from WhatsApp, the mobile chat app. At the time, Krasnoo said, the state had little case law on the technology that could be directly applied to the case.

Albeit brief, the assembly revealed some tensions. Before the vote, Councilor Marilyn Devaney asked Polito to apologize for cutting off Devaney. The councilor said she was responding to a witness whose testimony was not directly relevant to Georges’ nomination and that she was cut off after the witness had more than 15 minutes to speak.

The only response to the comments came not from Polito but from Councilor Mary Hurley, who said she agreed with all of the statements of her colleagues except the ones Devaney said about being cut off. The council then proceeded with a vote confirming Georges.

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