Hon. Robert A. Barton

Judge Robert Avery Barton passed away peacefully in hospice care at 10:30 PM on Friday, May 20, 2022, two weeks shy of his 92nd birthday. Known to many as Bob or Buzz, he was born on June 3, 1930, to Doctor Benjamin and Alice (Hill) Barton of Ferry Street, Everett, MA.  

Robert attended Everett Public Schools and graduated in 1948 from Boston Latin School where he was a Boston City All-Star in football and baseball. In 1952, he graduated from Dartmouth College, where he earned three varsity baseball letters as a catcher. He would remark in humor that his batting average was higher that his GPA.  In 1955, he graduated first in his class from Boston University School of Law.

After law school, Barton enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and served his country for the next four years in occupied Japan, Okinawa and the Philippines and San Francisco, rising in the ranks from 2nd Lieutenant to Captain.  He served as Defense Counsel to Marines charged in General Court-Martial Proceedings.

While stationed in San Francisco, in 1958, Barton met Norma Ann Green of Evanston, IL, a graduate of the former Chicago Teachers College, who at the time worked as a stewardess for Trans-World Airlines based in San Francisco. It was love at first sight, and they were married on February 7, 1959, in Evanston, IL. Their song has always been, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

On August 31,1959, Middlesex County District Attorney William O’Dea appointed Barton as an Assistant DA, and for the next four years Barton prosecuted felony cases throughout Middlesex County. After leaving the District Attorney’s Office, Barton joined the Law Office of F. Lee Bailey, and assisted in the representation of Albert DeSalvo, the purported “Boston Strangler.” He then worked for the Boston firm of Inker & Oteri before going into private practice, hanging his shingle on Muzzey Street, Lexington, MA.  He tried eight first-degree murder trials, representing indigent defendants.

The Bartons settled in the town of Bedford, MA, and raised two sons, Stephen and Daniel.  Robert coached youth sports and served two terms as a Bedford Selectman, and thereafter, five years as Bedford Town Moderator. He also spent many years as a Trustee of Middlesex Community College.

In 1978, Barton was nominated for a Superior Court Judgeship by Governor Michael Dukakis. Judge Barton went on to serve the Commonwealth for 22 years until mandatory retirement at age 70 in 2000.  Sitting primarily in Suffolk, Middlesex and Essex Counties, Judge Barton presided over 150 high-profile trials, the vast majority of which were first-degree murder cases.  In Cambridge Superior Court, Barton’s courtroom was known as “Studio 12B” due to the number of cases covered gavel to gavel in the 1980s and 1990s by Court TV.  Judge Barton was known to provide all litigants a fair and impartial trial, and he was a stickler for courtroom etiquette. Judge Barton took great pride in the fact that his cases were rarely overturned on appeal. In his last six years on the bench, Barton sat on and chaired the Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission. He taught Trial Practice at New England School of Law for over 30 years. After retirement Judge Barton was a frequent commentator on local and national news outlets, where he opined on high-profile trials and criminal justice issues. Never one to shy away from the media, Barton always let his mind be known, and was not abashed at being frank or controversial.  

To Robert, family always came first. He adored the love of his life, Norma. There were family meals, family sports, family excursions and family vacations. Retirement was a renaissance in Robert and Norma’s marriage. They wintered in Highland Beach, FL, and traveled to the far corners of the world. They spent summers at the family cottage in Maine, walking beaches, clam digging, reading and savoring the local catch.  Robert and Norma had developed a large and close circle of friends of various backgrounds and entertained regularly at home. While Norma was a connoisseur of the arts in general, Robert savored the culinary arts, seeking out and collecting the best wines and foods from all over the world.  He enjoyed reading military history, especially Marine Corps history. He liked following the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins. He was an avid tennis player and competed in doubles tournaments in the Boston area late into his 50s.

Robert Barton is survived by his son Stephen and his wife Paula (Brito), his son Daniel and his wife Alisa (Bishop), grandchildren Maxwell, Jacqueline and Addison, and his sister Marjorie Levin. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Norma (March 18, 2015), his grandson Christopher (December 24, 2015), and his brother Richard Barton (April 9, 2011).

Services will be private.  

Memorial contributions can be made to The Home for Little Wanderers, 10 Guest St. Boston, MA 02135 or Middlesex Community College, MCC Foundation, P.O. Box 8681, Lowell, MA 01853.