--- title: "Michael K. Callan | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-k-callan" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Michael K. Callan Massachusetts Superior Court · Associate Justice ## Profile - Court: Massachusetts Superior Court - State: Massachusetts - Role: Associate Justice - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## 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 ### remote hearings Scope: courtwide Massachusetts Superior Court Standing Order 1-26 identifies which criminal and civil proceedings are presumptively remote or in person, while allowing the presiding judge to change the format under the order's standards. Evidence excerpt: certain criminal and civil proceedings may be conducted remotely (e.g., by computer, videoconference, or telephone) pursuant to this Standing Order [Superior Court Standing Order 1-26: Remote hearings](https://www.mass.gov/superior-court-rules/superior-court-standing-order-1-26-remote-hearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### remote recording Scope: courtwide Photographing, recording, or electronically transmitting a Massachusetts Superior Court remote or hybrid hearing requires prior authorization from the supervising judge or clerk-magistrate. Evidence excerpt: No person shall take any photographs, or make any recording or transmission by electronic means, of a remote or hybrid court hearing, without prior authorization from the judge or clerk magistrate [Superior Court Standing Order 1-26: Remote hearings](https://www.mass.gov/superior-court-rules/superior-court-standing-order-1-26-remote-hearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### 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/superior-court-justices) - [Official roster](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/superior-court-justices) - [Massachusetts Court System official judicial roster](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/superior-court-justices) - [Superior Court Standing Order 1-26: Remote hearings](https://www.mass.gov/superior-court-rules/superior-court-standing-order-1-26-remote-hearings) - [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) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-k-callan", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-k-callan", "name": "Michael K. 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Callan", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-k-callan" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - Associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, appointed by Governor Charlie Baker on August 25, 2016 - After law school, he held the role of a law clerk to the Massachusetts Superior Court (1991–1992) ### Education - B.A. in political science and philosophy from Boston College in 1988 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1991. ### Additional information - In 2024, he dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Cape and Islands District Attorney against the Sheriffs of Dukes and Barnstable Counties, ruling in favor of the sheriffs’ interpretation of the Brady doctrine to limit disclosure of confidential personnel records - Callan was born March 6, 1966 in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. - As an associate justice, Callan presides over a range of cases, including property disputes and other civil matters. - Parishioner of St. Mary’s Parish (Longmeadow) and St. Michael’s Parish (East Longmeadow). - Hampden County Superior Court bench and has also been associated with Barnstable County Superior Court in recent filings - He has been involved in local sports, golf, and hospital foundation boards - He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Hampden County Bar Association ## 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.