12 Facts About Barbara Lenk

Barbara Lenk took the oath of office on June 8,2011.

Barbara Lenk's practice focused on civil litigation, with a specialty in First Amendment issues.

Barbara Lenk served there until Weld appointed her to the Appeals Court, where she began her service on June 20,1995.

When nominated to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court, Justice Lenk was the longest serving member of the Appeals Court.

In 2017, Justice Barbara Lenk found that the federal Stored Communications Act did not prevent the personal representatives of a deceased person from accessing his emails.

In July 2017, Barbara Lenk reported to the court the case in which it unanimously held that the commonwealth's law enforcement could not hold a prisoner solely on the authority of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.

Barbara Lenk announced her retirement from the court, initially effective August 17,2020, but she later delayed her retirement to December 1,2020, one day before she turned 70.

Justice Barbara Lenk has served on the board of directors of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association, as chair of the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal, and as a member of the Judicial Administration Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Barbara Lenk is a Trustee of Western New England University, where she chairs the academic affairs committee, and a member of the Boston Inn of Court.

Barbara Lenk serves on the board of directors for Kerem Shalom in Concord, Massachusetts.

Barbara Lenk married her wife, attorney Debra Krupp, following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004.

Barbara Lenk is the first openly gay member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.