Her name itself sounded imposing and suggested gravitas but Frederica Massiah-Jackson was one of the warmest, most human and most accessible jurists we've ever known. She was rare in that one could simultaneously hold her in the highest esteem and with the greatest affection. A Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge, civil jury trailblazer, and the first African American president judge in Pennsylvania, she passed away last week at the age of 74 -- way too soon and way too early as far as we're concerned.
The Philadelphia Bar Association confirmed her death and extended its condolences. Indeed, it was the Association itself, under the courageous leadership of then Chancellor Mark Aronchick that championed her nomination to the federal bench during a stormy confirmation battle in 1998 that remains one of the Association's finest moments, even though Judge Massiah-Jackson's nomination regrettably never made it to the US Senate floor for a vote.
Judge Massiah-Jackson served on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas from 1984 to 2021, presiding over medical malpractice and products liability cases, commercial litigation, and personal injury matters. Born Nov. 10, 1950, she practiced law with the Philadelphia firm Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley before joining the bench. She also previously served as a law clerk to one of the giants of the profession (and a true trailblazer in his own right) Justice Robert N.C. Nix of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Bar Association Chancellor Katayun I. Jaffari remembered Massiah-Jackson as a historic figure in Philadelphia’s judiciary, whose commitment and leadership over decades broke barriers and inspired others.
“The Association joins the legal community in mourning this tremendous loss and offers our heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of working alongside President Judge Massiah-Jackson,” Jaffari said.
Judge Massiah-Jackson made history as the first African American woman to preside over civil jury trials in Philadelphia, the first African American president judge of any county in Pennsylvania, and one of only five women among the 80 judges on the Board of Common Pleas in 1980.
After graduating from the Philadelphia High School for Girls at 16, Massiah-Jackson earned a bachelor’s of arts from Chestnut Hill College and a juris doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
While at Penn, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She was a lecturer for 10 years at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught legal studies and business law.
Massiah-Jackson ran the largest common pleas court system in the state and one of the largest of its type in the country. She led Pennsylvania's First Judicial District, overseeing 130 judges, 2,500 employees and a $110 million budget. She strengthened public trust in the courts and promoted fairness by raising pay for court-appointed counsel, implementing a mitigation protocol for death penalty cases, opening the First Judicial District Information Center, and launching programs to advance race and gender equity in the courtroom.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas H. Jackson III. She is survived by her children, Julia L. Jackson and Thomas H. Jackson IV, and other family members and friends.
Services will be held Wednesday, Sept. 10, at St. Malachy Church, 1429 N. 11th St.
A viewing will be held at 10 a.m. A requiem mass will be held at 11 a.m.
Wood Funeral Home Inc., is handling the arrangements.
Jing Ming Long, a 50-year-old citizen of China, arrested by ICE Baltimore. Long has a conviction for sex trafficking in Bel Air, Maryland.
Salvador Vasquez-Rivera, a citizen of El Salvador, 
David Alejandro Orellana-Aleman, a 27-year-old citizen of El Salvador, 
Edvin Giovanni Ceron-Reyes, a 37-year-old citizen of Guatemala, 
Juan Carlos Vasquez-Natera, a 33-year-old citizen of Venezuela, 
Wilmer Antonio Echenique-Navarro, a 22-year-old citizen of Venezuela, 
German Ronal Del Cid Carranza, a 33-year-old citizen of El Salvador, 
Georges Olivier Daceus, a 27-year-old citizen of Canada, 
Chuan En Liu, a 48-year-old citizen of China, 
Luis Olmedo Quishpi-Poalasin, a 35-year-old citizen of Ecuador, was arrested by ICE New York City. Quishpi has convictions for forcible rape, sexual abuse contact by forcible compulsion, rape and anal sexual contact with a person incapable of consent, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching of intimate parts of another person, sexual misconduct by vaginal sexual contact without consent, and subjecting another person to sexual contact without consent in Brooklyn, New York.
Eduardo Garcia-Cortez, a 64-year-old, citizen of Honduras, was arrested by ICE Houston. Garcia has a conviction for murder in Los Angeles County, California.
Arcelio Barrera, a 49-year-old citizen of Guatemala, was arrested by ICE Chicago. Barrera, a known member of the Paisas gang, has multiple convictions for re-entry, assault, and arson in Prince William County, Virginia.
Jesus Guadalupe Salazar, a 23-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Houston. Salazar has convictions for assault of a pregnant woman and violence against a family member in Hidalgo County, Texas.
Jose Luis Orozco Torres, a 37-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Los Angeles. Orozco has a conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14-years-old in San Mateo, California, and convictions for violating an order of protection, possession of a controlled substance, and fighting in a public place in Santa Clara, California.
Pedro Contreras-Soto, a 54-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Los Angeles. Contreras has convictions for rape of spouse by threat, sodomy with person under 14 years or with force, and kidnapping in San Jose, California.
Roberto Salvador-Casimiro, a 35-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Chicago. Salvador has a conviction for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in Cook County, Illinois.
Alfredo Giron, a 34-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic, was arrested by ICE Buffalo. Giron has a conviction for murder in New York County, New York.
Luis Enrique Roque-Avila, a 36-year-old, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Denver. Roque is a registered as a sex offender and has convictions for sexual assault of a child and interference with school and failure to leave in Lake County, Colorado, and a conviction for theft in Summit County, Colorado.
Moises Arturo Vieyra Gallegos, a 29-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE San Francisco. Vieyra has a conviction for possession of child pornography in San Mateo County, California.
Jose Herrera-Garcia, a 21-year-old citizen of Colombia, was arrested by ICE Philadelphia. Herrera has a conviction for indecent assault of a person less than 13-years-old in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Mark Anthony Scaffe, a 46-year-old citizen of Jamaica, was arrested by ICE Boston. Scaffe has convictions for three counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14-years-old in Boston, Massachusetts.
Patrick Malston Garfield, a 43-year-old citizen of Guyana, was arrested by ICE New York City. Malston has convictions for third-degree criminal sexual act with a victim less than 17-years-old and first-degree dissemination of indecent material to minors in the first degree in Westchester County, New York.
Esteban Pineda-Guillen, a 34-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Seattle. Pineda has multiple DUI convictions, as well as a conviction for conspiracy to commit sexual assault in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nelson Juarez, a 62-year-old citizen of El Salvador, was arrested by ICE Buffalo. Juarez has a conviction for sexual conduct with a child in Nassau County, New York.
Misael De Jesus Granados-Chavez, a 32-year-old citizen of El Salvador, was arrested by ICE Atlanta. Granados has a conviction for sexual assault of a child in Wake County, North Carolina.
Diego Rodriguez Perez, a 32-year-old citizen of Mexico, was arrested by ICE Philadelphia. Rodriguez has convictions for unlawful sexual contact and sexual contact with a person under 18-years-old in Sussex County, Delaware.
