On Friday, September 15, the Lowell Justice Center was formally dedicated to former Judge and State Representative Cornelius F. Kiernan.
Judge Cornelius F. Kiernan was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1917. He was one of seven children born to William R. Kiernan and Anna G. Doyle. His father was a pharmacist who owned Kiernan’s drug store at the corner of Broadway and School streets in the Acre section of Lowell. The family lived at 22 Phillips Street, which was just a block away from the drug store.
Judge Kiernan graduated from St. Patrick’s School and then from Lowell High School in 1935. He then studied law at Northeastern University in Boston, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1941.
While still at Northeastern, Kiernan registered for the draft in Lowell on October 16, 1940. He was 23 years old and still living at 22 Phillips Street. In March 1944, Kiernan passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam and soon left for basic training in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in the Philippines during the war.
After his discharge from the Army, Kiernan returned to Lowell and opened a law office and was elected to the Lowell School Committee in 1947. One year later, on November 2, 1948, Cornelius Kiernan was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he would serve for thirteen terms. During his first year as a state representative, Kiernan also remained on the Lowell School Committee, holding both offices for a twelve-month period.
In 1958, Cornelius Kiernan became the Majority Leader, the second most powerful position in the House of Representatives. Kiernan served in that role for the next four years until in November 1962, Kiernan announced that he would run for Speaker. However, Speaker John Thompson had decided to forego running for a statewide office and instead seek another term as Speaker. Eventually Thompson prevailed.
Kiernan was named chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee in 1966, a position he held for the next eight years.
During his years in Legislature, Representative Kiernan was essential in obtaining state funding for the Merrimack River Boat Ramp and the Lowell Connector. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Solomon Mental Health Center and securing over $4 million in the State Budget for the nuclear center at Lowell Technological Institute, now known as University of Massachusetts-Lowell. He also established Juvenile Courts in four new locations, initiated legal assistance for indigent and mentally ill, required hospitals and doctors to report battered children, and advocated for equal pay for equal work.
In 1974, Representative Kiernan was nominated by Republican Governor Francis W. Sargent to be a special justice in the Somerville District Court. The Massachusetts Governor’s Council approved Kiernan’s nomination in February that year, and he was sworn in during the following month. After the unexpected retirement of a judge at the Lowell District Court, Governor Sargent appointed Judge Kiernan to the Lowell District Court where he served for seven years until his retirement in 1983. Judge Kiernan was known as a compassionate justice. He treated those that came before his bench with empathy and fairness, and presided over his court with the belief that people, regardless of circumstance, deserved a second chance.
Judge Kiernan served for eight years as a judge, retiring in 1983 at age 65. He lived for another 13 years, passing away on January 20, 1996. His funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Church in the Acre and he is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Lowell.
