Daily Hampshire Gazette – Northampton woman nominated for higher court judgeship

Deepika Shukla of Northampton, an assistant district attorney, has been nominated as a Supreme Court judge.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

NORTHAMPTON — Board of Governors member Tara Jacobs met Deepika Shukla about a year ago and was impressed with the assistant district attorney’s broad experience.

“You can’t necessarily guess where she started based on where she is now,” Jacobs said.

On Wednesday, Shukla, of Northampton, was one of five potential Supreme Court justices nominated by Gov. Maura Healey. The Governor’s Council holds hearings on the nominees before voting on their confirmation.

Shukla heads the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Springfield, overseeing all federal criminal cases in western Massachusetts.

She is also an associate professor at Western New England School of Law and has worked as a civil rights attorney at the Connecticut Fair Housing Center and in private practice.

She was not available to speak to the Gazette this week, but Jacobs said several people had expressed their support for her and encouraged her nomination.

Before Shukla became a prosecutor, Jacobs said, she worked in legal aid and advocacy. Jacobs said she seeks a balance between those two disciplines in future judges.

“I like to see a spectrum of experiences,” she said. “I want to see someone who is humble, curious and aware of their own biases.”

She said she appreciates that Healey also values diversity within the judiciary.

Shukla received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Jacobs announced Friday that she has scheduled a local public hearing for Shukla’s nomination for July 29.

It will be held in the Moot Court Room at Western New England University, 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and testimony runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

“Local hearings provide the local community with an easy way to participate in the process of screening a locally appointed candidate for the courts,” Jacobs said in a statement.

Shukla’s formal Governor’s Council hearing is scheduled for July 31 at 10 a.m. at the State House in Boston.