bizjournals.com/boston/news/2015/07/08/how-the-state-s-next-top-appeals-court-judge-has.html
So the father is apparently a republican, which doesnt bode well. But the son could well be a bern-out
Gov. Charlie Baker’s nomination of Judge Scott Kafker to be chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court has been met with cheers from corporate attorneys, who call him a balanced jurist with the experience and know-how to understand complex business issues.
Kafker, who would replace retiring Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza, is expected to be confirmed to the position without controversy. He has served as an associate justice on the Appeals Court, the state’s second-highest court, since 2001, when he was appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. Paul Cellucci. His time on the bench was preceded by stints as counsel at the Port Authority and in Gov. William Weld’s office.
If confirmed, Scott Kafker would replace Phillip Rapoza as the Massachusetts Appeals Court's chief justice.
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If confirmed, Scott Kafker would replace Phillip Rapoza as the Massachusetts Appeals… more
COURTESY OF THINKSTOCK.
His legal career began at Foley Hoag LLP, where he worked for several years on labor and employment cases and other commercial disputes, according to current Foley Hoag partner John Shope, who was recruited by Kafker to the firm. “He’s one of those rare judges who comes to the job with both business law and public-sector law experience,” Shope said.
Kafker doesn’t have a reputation as a particularly pro- or anti-business judge, but for being thorough in both oral argument and in written opinions, according to attorneys. “Frankly, there are a lot of judges in the state system who have exclusively prosecutorial backgrounds, and businesses sometimes worry that judges with those backgrounds are going to have a little more difficulty understanding the case. You wouldn’t have that worry with Judge Kafker,” Shope said.
One of Kafker’s former colleagues on the bench, current Rackemann Sawyer & Brewster counsel David Mills, said Kafker is balanced “in the William Weld tradition of Massachusetts Republicans.” Another attorney, Edward Foye of Arrowood Peters LLP, called him a judge who “cuts it down the middle.”
That middle-of-the-road reputation is reflected in the business rulings he’s authored during his decade as a judge, which have gone both for and against companies. Here’s a sampling of some of his more important decisions:
