Governor Patrick Nominates Arlington Attorney to District Court Bench

The following is from the Office of Gov. Deval Patrick.

BOSTON – Wednesday, October 10, 2012 – Governor Patrick today announced the nominations of three experienced attorneys to the District Court bench: Catherine K. Byrne and Ellen M. Caulo as Associate Justices of the District Court, Circuit; and Daniel C. Crane as an Associate Justice of the Newton District Court. 

“I am honored to nominate these well qualified attorneys. All three have demonstrated their respect for the fair administration of justice and their commitment to public service,” said Governor Patrick. “I am confident that they will be excellent District Court judges and I thank them for their willingness to serve.”

Catherine K. Byrne has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Massachusetts since 2001. Her prior legal experience includes one year at Bowmar, Larkin, Lilly & Barton, a general practice firm in Littleton, Massachusetts, one year as a judicial law clerk for the Superior Court and 13 years at the Committee for Public Counsel Services where she represented criminal defendants in the Massachusetts trial and appellate courts. Byrne is a graduate of University of Massachusetts, Amherst (B.A., 1979) and Boston College Law School (J.D., 1984). She resides in Somerville. If confirmed, Byrne will fill a Circuit position on the District Court.

Ellen M. Caulo has served as Deputy General Counsel in the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department since 2003, representing the Sheriff’s Department in litigation, administrative proceedings and arbitrations. Before joining the Sheriff’s Office, Caulo worked for nine years as Director of the Prosecutor Program at Suffolk University Law School. Caulo also worked for seven years in the Middlesex and Suffolk District Attorney’s offices, prosecuting cases in District and Superior Courts, with a focus on child abuse cases. In addition, she spent two years as Chief of the Industrial Accident Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Caulo is a graduate of Boston College (B.A. magna cum laude, 1981) and Boston College Law School (J.D. cum laude, 1984). She resides in Arlington. Caulo is slated to fill a Circuit position on the District Court.

Daniel C. Crane began his career in 1975 as a lawyer at Finn & Crane in Cambridge. He maintained an active general and litigation practice there for 24 years, trying many cases to verdict in both state and federal courts. From 1999 to 2006, Crane worked as Bar Counsel to the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers. He served as Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development from 2007 to 2009.  Since 2009, he has been advising lawyers and firms on practice management, professional responsibility issues and ethics matters. Crane is a graduate of Harvard College (B.A. cum laude, 1972) and Boston College Law School (J.D., 1975). He resides in Cambridge. If confirmed, Crane will fill the vacancy at the Newton District Court created by the retirement of The Honorable Thomas M. Brennan.