Martha Mary Coakley (born July 14, 1953) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former politician who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County from 1999 to 2007.
Coakley was the Democratic nominee in the 2010 special election to fill the United States Senate seat long held by Ted Kennedy (and held in the interim by Paul G. Kirk). Coakley was defeated 52% to 47% by Republican Scott Brown in what was widely considered an upset. She won reelection as Attorney General in the 2010 general election. Coakley was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014 but lost to Republican Charlie Baker. Coakley was a lobbyist for the e-cigarette company Juul until June 2022.
Early life
Coakley was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Edward J. and Phyllis E. Coakley. Her father was a World War II veteran, Korean War veteran, and small business owner. Her mother was a homemaker. When Coakley was one year old, she and her parents moved to North Adams. There, she attended St. Joseph's School and Drury High School, graduating in June 1971.
Early career
Coakley graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Williams College in 1975 and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1979. In the summer of 1978, while a law student, Coakley clerked for the law firm of Donovan and O'Connor of Adams, Massachusetts. After graduating from law school, Coakley began work as an associate at the law firm of Parker, Coulter, Daley & White and later practiced at Goodwin Procter—both in Boston, Massachusetts.
Assistant District Attorney
She joined the DA's office in 1986 as an Assistant District Attorney in the Lowell, Massachusetts, District Court office. A year later, she was invited by the U.S. Justice Department to join its Boston Organized Crime Strike Force as a Special Attorney. Coakley returned to the District Attorney's office in 1989 and was appointed the Chief of the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit two years later.
In 1997, while serving under Middlesex County, Massachusetts, District Attorney Tom Reilly, she and Gerry Leone led the courtroom prosecution of then 19-year-old English au pair Louise Woodward, who was later convicted in the shaking death of eight-month-old Matthew Eappen of Newton, Massachusetts.
Run for State Representative
In 1997, a special election was held for Boston's 16th Suffolk district to replace James T. Brett, who was resigning. Five candidates, who all lived in the same Ward 16 neighborhood, including a "thoughtful, but unknown assistant DA named Martha Coakley," entered the race. Coakley lost the race to Marty Walsh, receiving 11.7 percent of the vote.
District Attorney
In December 1997, Coakley resigned her position in order to campaign for District Attorney in Middlesex County.
In 2001, Coakley successfully lobbied Acting Governor Jane Swift to deny clemency to Gerald Amirault, a defendant in the Fells Acres day care sexual abuse trial, whom many regarded as a victim of day care sex abuse hysteria. Clemency for Amirault had been recommended unanimously by the Massachusetts Parole Board. Amirault's co-accused mother and sister had already been released from custody. Wall Street Journal editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz cites Coakley's pursuit of the case despite lack of corroborating evidence as an example of questionable judgment on Coakley's part.
Coakley's actions as District Attorney in the sexual abuse case of a 23-month-old girl in 2005 have drawn sharp criticism. Coakley, who oversaw the grand jury for the case, did not immediately indict Keith Winfield, a Somerville police officer. On August 1, 2006, after a criminal complaint was threatened to be filed by Larry Frisoli, attorney for the victim's single mother and the Republican candidate running against Coakley for Attorney General, she indicted Winfield. She requested for him to be released without cash bail. The District Attorney succeeding Coakley subsequently secured a conviction. Winfield was given two life sentences for the crime. Coakley later defended her actions by saying she acted appropriately with the evidence that was available at the time. As of 2012, film producer Steve Audette was making a documentary about Winfield's prosecution, conviction, and continued assertion of innocence; Audette was denied access to recordings of the trial in March 2013.