Press Release: 3/5/2026
Governor Healey Nominates Judges to Serve on Juvenile Court and Probate and Family Court, and Attorney to Serve as Clerk Magistrate in the Stoughton District Court
Governor Healey has now nominated over 100 Judges
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
3/04/2026
MEDIA CONTACT
Karissa Hand, Deputy Communications Director
Phone
Call Karissa Hand, Deputy Communications Director at 617-725-4025
BOSTON — Today, Governor Maura Healey nominated Mary Ferriter to serve as an Associate Justice of the Probate and Family Court, and Mary Gallant-Cote to serve as an Associate Justice of the Juvenile Court. With these nominations, the Governor has now nominated over 100 judges. The Governor also nominated Attorney John P. Riordan to serve as Clerk Magistrate in the Stoughton District Court. The three nominees will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.
“I am deeply grateful to have nominated over 100 outstanding judges over the last few years who work to uphold the rule of law, protect our state and safeguard the rights of all our residents,” said Governor Maura Healey. “The Juvenile Court and the Probate and Family Court sit at the intersection of law, family, and community, and these judicial nominees bring deep experience, sound judgment, and a strong sense of fairness to that work.”
“Over the last three years, it has been great to work with the Governor’s Council to strengthen our courts, and I look forward to working with them to continue that work as these nominees move through the confirmation process and into their roles,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
The mission of the Juvenile Court is to protect children from abuse and neglect, to promote opportunities for children to reside in safe, stable, permanent family environments, to strengthen families, to rehabilitate juveniles, and to protect the public from delinquent and criminal behavior. The Juvenile Court Department has jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters including delinquencies, youthful offender cases, care and protection matters and children requiring assistance cases. It has 42 judges, including the Chief Justice, sitting in over 40 courthouses.
For more information about the Juvenile Court, visit its homepage. Governor Healey has previously nominated 12 judges to the Juvenile Court: Jamie Bennett, Jennifer Currie, Andrew Don, Tiffanie Ellis-Niles, Nibal Raheb, Andrew Hoffman, Audrey Murillo, Jeannie Rhinehart, Benjamin Mann, LaKeshia Parker Small, Fabiola White and Karin Wilinski. For more information about the Juvenile Court, visit its homepage.
The Probate and Family Court Department is responsible for family-related and probate matters such as divorce, paternity, child support, custody, adoption, wills, estates, and guardianships. Its mission is to provide fair, equitable, and timely access to justice while assisting and protecting individuals and families. For more information about the Probate and Family Court Department, please visit its homepage. Governor Healey has previously nominated 20 judges to the Probate and Family Court: Laurel Barraco, Manisha Bhatt, Jennifer Bingham, Bethany Brown, Colleen Carroll, Jessica Dubin, Alexandra Flanders, Timothy Horan, Mikalen Howe, Lyonel Jean-Pierre Jr., Mark Lee, Caryn Mitchell-Munevar, Evelyn Patsos, Alessandra Petruccelli, Brian Salisbury, Carla Salvucci, Bernadette Stark, Toiya Taylor, Elena Tsizer, and Michelle Yee.
The District Court Department hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases. District Court criminal jurisdiction extends to all felonies punishable by a sentence up to five years, and many other specific felonies with greater potential penalties, all misdemeanors, and all violations of city and town ordinances and by-laws. In civil matters, the District Court hears cases in which the damages are not likely to be more than $50,000 and small claims cases up to $7,000. The District Court is located in 62 courts across the state. Governor Healey has previously nominated four Clerk Magistrates to the District Court: Ann Dawley, Padraic Rafferty, Scott Rathbun, and John Stocks.
About the Nominees:
Mary Gallant-Cotecurrently serves as Clerk Magistrate for the Berkshire County Juvenile Courts, a position she has held since June 2022. In this role, she presides over show cause hearings involving applications for criminal complaints, evaluates probable cause and jurisdictional issues, and issues arrest warrants. She also oversees daily court operations and serves as a liaison to judges, probation, law enforcement, school officials, attorneys, litigants, and members of the public. From 2016-2022, Attorney Gallant-Cote served as Assistant Regional Legal Counsel in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, where she managed and litigated a substantial caseload of care and protection matters and provided legal guidance to agency staff on complex child welfare issues. From 2009 to 2016, she was the owner and sole practitioner of the Law Offices of Mary Gallant-Cote in Springfield, where her practice focused on representing clients in a broad range of civil and criminal matters in the Probate and Family, Juvenile, and District Courts in Western and Central Massachusetts. Attorney Gallant-Cote has also served as an Adjunct Professor and Moot Court Coach at Fitchburg State College, where she mentored undergraduate students in appellate advocacy and guided a national championship brief-writing team to first place honors. Attorney Gallant-Cote earned a Bachelor of Science from Fitchburg State College and a Juris Doctor from Western New England School of Law, where she received CALI Awards for Academic Excellence in American Legal History and Post-Conviction Rights & Procedures.
Mary Ferriteris a highly experienced attorney who has practiced in the Probate and Family Court for nearly 40 years. Her career includes 23 years as a litigator, negotiator, and direct client advocate, and 13 years working closely with mental health professionals, court systems, and judicial administrators. Since 2006, Attorney Ferriter has practiced with Esdaile Barrett & Jacobs (formerly Esdaile, Barrett Jacobs & Mone), where she represents clients in all aspects of probate and family law. Her work includes divorce, post-divorce modifications, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, child custody, child support and property division matters. Previously, Attorney Ferriter served as Director of the High Conflict Parent Education Program at William James College in its Child and Family Evaluation Services division. In that role, she managed court-ordered programming operations, established administrative systems to track participants, and trained and supervised instructors, volunteers, and graduate students. Attorney Ferriter began her career with the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Administrative Office, where she worked from 1988 to 2001, supporting judges and court staff in managing child welfare cases and coordinating services across agencies. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Lesley University and Juris Doctor from Suffolk University School of Law and a Master of Science in Public Administration from the McCormack Institute of Public Policy at UMass Boston.
John Riordan currently serves as the Clerk Magistrate in the Northeast Housing Court. Prior to that appointment, he served as the Supervising Attorney for Riordan Law Office for nearly thirty years where he handled a high-volume of trial cases focused on criminal defense, civil litigation and bankruptcy in both state and federal courts. He also served as the Chief Outside Legal Counsel for the Brockton Redevelopment Authority. Prior to founding his own practice, Attorney Riordan served as an in-house trial attorney for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company for ten years and as an Assistant District Attorney for the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. He is a past President of the Boys & Girls Club of Brockton and was the recipient of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Community Service Award in 2017. Attorney Riordan has also served in the United States Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant Commander in Naval Intelligence serving in the Mideast and Latin America. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Political Science and a Juris Doctorate from New England School of Law.