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THE GREAT LEGAL HISTORY OF BOSTON (cont.)
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46. Old Court House
Pemberton Square once ascended directly to the Old Court House,
but the construction of Government Center created an open space.
The old "Old Court House" was located in the site now occupied
by the City Hall Annex.
The Old Court House contains the Superior (criminal division),
probate, municipal, juvenile and small claims courts, and
the Suffolk County registry of deeds. In the New Court House
are the Supreme Judicial Court, superior (civil) and housing
courts and the prestigious Social Law Library, depository
of invaluable court records and a leading library for practitioners.
(See 22 Boston Bar Journal, September 1978). Professor
and retired judge, Benjamin Kaplan, refers to the Supreme
Judicial Court as "the oldest court in continuous service
in the hemisphere, operating under the oldest still functioning
written constitution anywhere." Osgood, ed. The History
of the Law in Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court,
1692-1992 (1992), page 8.
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47. Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate, whose statue, by Daniel Chester is in the lobby
of the Old Court House, practiced law at 4 Court Street. The
outstanding criminal lawyer of his time, his detractors said
that criminals inquired about his health before engaging in
illegal activity. When a judge challenged Choate to cite a precedent
for his argument before the court, he replied, "I will look,
your honor, and endeavor to find a precedent for it; though
it would seem a pity that the court should lose the distinction
of being the first to establish so just a rule." (Claude M.
Fuess, Rufus Choate, The Wizard of the Law (1928)) |
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48. Statue of Justice
No blindfold masks this statue of Justice, one of many figures
in the main hall of the Old Court House. |
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49. Saltonstall Building
On Cambridge Street, where the Saltonstall Building now stands,
old-time Bostonians recall Scollay Square, the heart of the
waterfront, where sailors and their girlfriends gathered to
watch the ladies of feather and bubble who graced the stages
of the Old Howard and the Crawford House. Here the frock-coated
censors of the Watch and Ward Society attempted to protect Boston's
morals against such threats as Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass
in 1878 and Winsor's Forever Amber in 1945.
The Saltonstall Building, named for Senator Leverett Saltonstall,
contains state offices.
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50. John F. Kennedy Federal Building
The John F. Kennedy Federal Building contains exhibits on the
Kennedy family in its main lobby. A statue of the 35th President
of the United States can be found on the lawn, on the west side
of the State House grounds. For a more extensive exhibit on
the Kennedys, visit The JFK Library and Museum in Dorchester. |
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