John M. Greaney is Director of the Macaronis Institute for Trial and Appellate Advocacy. John M. Greaney was a Justice on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts from 1989 through 2008. While on the Court, Justice Greaney authored numerous significant opinions, including opinions on one of the most complex corporate litigation cases in Massachusetts history (Demoulas case), separation of powers and inherent judicial authority (First Justice case), PCR based DNA testing (Vao Sok case), same-sex marriage (Goodridge case), termination of life support (Sharlene case), the constitutional right to an adequate public school education (Hancock case), and the law of defamation (Murphy case).

After serving in the military, Justice Greaney was engaged for ten years in the practice of law with the firm of Ely and King in Springfield. In 1974, he was appointed as the presiding judge of the Hampden County Housing Court, the second such court in Massachusetts. In 1976, he was appointed as a Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. In 1978, he was appointed as a Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and, in 1984, as that court’s Chief Justice.

Justice Greaney has taught law and lectured extensively, authored books and legal and judicial materials, and served on numerous study and court-related commissions.

Justice Greaney received his B.A. with honors in 1960 from the College of the Holy Cross, and his J.D. in 1963 from New York University School of Law, where he was a Root-Tilden scholar and chairperson of the Annual Survey of American Law.

Hon. John Greaney (Ret.)
Suffolk University Law School
120 Tremont Street, Suite 310-B
Boston, MA 02108-4977

t. (617) 573-8556
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