---
title: "Sydney Hanlon | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Sydney Hanlon

Massachusetts Appeals Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Massachusetts Appeals Court
- State: Massachusetts
- Role: Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2009-present
- Served until mandatory retirement in 2020, then held the role of a recall justice until 2021
- Associate Justice Sydney Hanlon served on the Massachusetts Appeals Court from 2009 to 2020, appointed by Governor Deval Patrick, and later acted as a recall justice in 2020–2021
- 1990: Appointed to the Dorchester District Court by Governor Michael Dukakis; became First Justice in 1994
- After law school, she served as an assistant district attorney in Norfolk County, leading the Sexual Assault Unit from 1977 to 1982

### Education

- B.A. from Brown University in 1972 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1975.

### Additional information

- In 2009, Governor Deval Patrick appointed Hanlon to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the state’s intermediate appellate court.
- In her 2009 appointment speech, Hanlon expressed gratitude to Governor Patrick, her family, friends, and the Dorchester Court community, emphasizing the importance of fair, daily judicial work despite resource challenges
- Judge, 2008-2008
- She chaired the District Court Domestic Violence Committee (1992) and served on the District Court Education Committee (1992–2003), later chairing the Boston Municipal Court Education Committee
- Hanlon was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950.
- She also participated in domestic violence training in Russia and led judicial oversight projects

## 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.courtlistener.com/person/7508/sydney-hanlon/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7508/sydney-hanlon/)
- [Massachusetts Appeals Court current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7508/sydney-hanlon/)
- [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)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7508/sydney-hanlon/)
- [Sydney Hanlon - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Sydney_Hanlon)
- [Appeals Court Justices](https://www.mass.gov/lists/appeals-court-justices)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7508/sydney-hanlon/)
- [Sydney Hanlon - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Sydney_Hanlon)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508",
      "name": "Sydney Hanlon | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Sydney Hanlon, Massachusetts Appeals Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-10-07",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508#judge",
      "name": "Sydney Hanlon",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508",
      "jobTitle": "Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "Massachusetts Appeals Court"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/7508/sydney-hanlon/"
      ],
      "alumniOf": [
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Harvard Law School in 1975"
        },
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Harvard University"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Massachusetts",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/massachusetts"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Sydney Hanlon",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sydney-hanlon-7508"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```