Edward F. Harrington

Edward F. Harrington
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Incumbent
Assumed office March 1, 2001
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office February 22, 1988 – March 1, 2001
Preceded by	Andrew A. Caffrey
Succeeded by	Seat abolished on March 1, 2001 (temporary judgeship expired)
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
In office 1977–1981
Preceded by	James N. Gabriel
Succeeded by	William F. Weld
Personal details
Born	Edward Francis Harrington 1933 (age 82–83) Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democrat (1974) Republican (1986)
Residence	Needham, Massachusetts
Alma mater	College of the Holy Cross Boston College Law School
Occupation	Attorney Judge

Edward Francis Harrington (born 1933) is a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Early life

Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Harrington received an A.B. from College of the Holy Cross in 1955 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1960. He was in the United States Navy Lieutenant, JAG Corps from 1955 to 1957. He was a U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant from 1957 to 1972. He was a law clerk, Hon. Paul C. Reardon, Chief Judge, Massachusetts Superior Court from 1960 to 1961. He was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts in 1961.

Attorney

He was a Trial attorney of Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice from 1961 to 1965. He was an Assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1965 to 1969. He was in private practice in Taunton, Massachusetts in 1969. He was an Attorney-in-charge, U.S. Department of Justice's 'Strike Force' agst. Organized Crime from 1970 to 1973. He was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1973 to 1977. In 1974 he was a candidate for Massachusetts Attorney General, finishing third in the Democratic Primary.^[1] He was the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1977 to 1981. He was in private practice in Framingham, Massachusetts from 1981 to 1988. Harrington ran for Massachusetts Attorney General again in 1986, this time as a Republican. He lost in the general election to Democrat James Shannon 55% to 45%.^[2]

Judge

Harrington was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Harrington was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 18, 1987, to a seat vacated by Andrew A. Caffrey. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 19, 1988, and received his commission on February 22, 1988. He assumed senior status on March 1, 2001.

Judge Harrington received much publicity when he testified for the defense in the murder trial of John J. Connolly a disgraced former FBI agent who was convicted of second degree murder in 2008, in which Connolly was convicted of helping James "Whitey" Bulger murder an associate.^[3]

References

1. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1974. p. 218.
2. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1986.
3. "Judge testifies Connolly helped decimate the Mafia". The Boston Globe. October 14, 2008. Retrieved 2011-06-27.

Sources

• Edward F. Harrington at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.