---
title: "Brian J. Dunn | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brian-j-dunn-massachusetts-probate-family-court"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-27"
---

# Brian J. Dunn

Massachusetts Probate and Family Court · Justice

## Profile

- Court: Massachusetts Probate and Family Court
- State: Massachusetts
- Role: Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-27

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### recording and photography

Scope: statewide

In Massachusetts courts, photography, recording, or electronic transmission in a courtroom or related judicial space requires prior authorization from the judge or magistrate supervising that place, subject to Rule 1:19's separate provisions for registered news media.

Evidence excerpt: No person shall take any photographs, or make any recording or transmission by electronic means, in any courtroom, hearing room, office, chambers or lobby of a judge or magistrate without prior authorization

[Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-justices)
- [Official roster](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-justices)
- [Massachusetts Trial Court official judicial roster](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-justices)
- [Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Selected as Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court for a five-year term, effective July 7, 2025, succeeding Chief Justice John D. Casey upon his retirement
- Associate Justice, Massachusetts Probate and Family Court (appointed 2013)

### Education



### Additional information

- For example, he participated in MCLE New England’s “Chat with the Chief” in November 2025, providing attorneys with insights into his vision for the court and discussing priorities for the year ahead
- Began his legal career in 1992 as a solo practitioner
- Judge Dunn actively engages with the legal community
- First Justice, Suffolk County Probate and Family Court — eight years
- focusing on civil litigation, juvenile law, child custody, and mental health proceedings
- His leadership in the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court positions him as a key figure in shaping the administration of family and probate law across the state
- Over the years, he has taken on leadership roles within the court system, including serving on the Elder Justice Innovation Grant Internal Advisory Committee, chairing the Guardianship Committee, and participating in multiple working groups such as the Registers and Judges Working Group and the Assistant Judicial Case Manager Transition Working Group



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-20acbd9da185f40e1f10b2b2) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts). Collected 2026-07-26.