Enter the doors of Ginty Boulevard’s Haverhill District Court for one reason or another and chances are, you’ve come into contact with Doris Stanziani. That’s because the longtime right hand to First Justice Stephen Abany and Judge Patricia Dowling is often the person who keeps things moving smoothly both behind the scenes and in the courtrooms as the clerk magistrate.
On Thursday night, in recognition of her efforts and service to the community, the Haverhill Bar Association presented Stanziani with the Justice William H. Moody Award in a ceremony at downtown’s Garibialdi Club.
Likening Stanziani’s magistrate role to that of a company CEO, Bar Association President Thomas Tretter said Stanziani’s contributions to the community are many. Praised by Mayor James J. Fiorentini for being a key player in the courthouse’s major renovations, former schoolteacher Stanziani plans to launch a paralegal internship program this fall for students with autism, Tretter said
As her colleagues—including Abany and Dowling, attorneys, Haverhill Police officers, staff from the clerk’s office and others looked on—Stanziani remained humble when accepting the Moody Award.
“I can’t accomplish everything I do in a day without a great team: I want to thank the ladies in my office, my clerks, my judges, my probation department, security department, all the attorneys in the bar, the police department in the communities. They make me look good,” said attorney Stanziani, who was joined at the event by her daughters. “They make my job easy and it’s a pleasure to come to Haverhill every day and work in the District Court.”
Abany received the same honor from the Haverhill Bar Association in 2015.