On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, Mass.gov reported that former Probate and Family Court Associate Justice Lawrence Army Jr. was penalized for violating the conflict of interest law. Army Jr. paid a $4,000 civil penalty for appointing his father as a Special Master in a divorce proceeding. The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission approved a Disposition Agreement wherein Army Jr. admitted to the violation and waived his right to a public hearing.
The issue occurred in December 2022, when Army Jr. was temporarily serving as a judge at Essex Probate and Family Court. He oversaw a divorce case where the preceding judge had already mandated the sale of the couple’s marital home. Following a hearing, Army Jr. appointed his father, Lawrence Army Sr., as the Special Master for the home sale, setting his compensation at $450 per hour, after the parties in the divorce case said that they couldn’t agree to the terms of the sale.
This appointment was in violation of a Supreme Judicial Court rule that requires fee-generating appointments to be made sequentially from a court-maintained list of eligible individuals. Lawrence Army Sr. was not only not next on the list, but his name was also not on the Essex court’s list at all. Furthermore, Army Sr.’s office was approximately 65 miles away from the property.
In January 2023, First Justice Frances Giordano nullified Army Jr.’s appointment and assigned a different Special Master to handle the home sale. Consequently, Army Sr. did not receive any payment for the appointment.
The conflict of interest law explicitly forbids state employees from participating in matters where immediate family members have a financial stake. It also prohibits public employees from leveraging their official positions to secure unwarranted benefits for anyone. Army Jr. has acknowledged violating both of these prohibitions in the Disposition Agreement.
Massachusetts Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson stated that when a public employee appoints a family member to a compensated position, it breaches public trust and undermines confidence in the governmental agency, especially when the public employee is a judge. Wilson added that the conflict of interest law exists to prevent such breaches and ensure integrity and impartiality among public employees, including judges.
