Clerk magistrate for Nantucket nominated; Vineyard woman named district court judge

Liza Williamson. Photo from Mass.gov

BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey has nominated a group of clerk magistrates to district and juvenile courts, including Kimberly Karass as clerk magistrate of the Nantucket District Court.

The governor’s office says Karass is an assistant clerk magistrate at the Plymouth District Court, where she reviews applications for search and arrest warrants, conducts show cause hearings, presides over small claims trials, and conducts civil motor vehicle infraction and show cause hearings.

Her history also includes assisting in the Falmouth, Wareham and Nantucket District Courts and working as a law clerk for the Supreme Judicial Court for 15 years.

The nomination will now be considered by the Governor’s Council for confirmation.

Earlier this year, Healey nominated Liza Williamson, a clerk magistrate for the Edgartown District Court for over 20 years, to serve as a judge in the district court system. Williamson was confirmed in July, and became the first District Court judge to be appointed from Martha’s Vineyard.

Williamson lives in West Tisbury.

As clerk magistrate, she presided over small claims trials, issued search warrants, conducted bail hearings, and served as the administrative head of the court. She had a private general law practice that focused on civil and criminal defense matters in the Superior, District and Juvenile Courts, and was also an assistant district attorney in Suffolk and Middlesex County.