The Hon. Emily A. Karstetter is First Justice of the Malden District Court in Massachusetts. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Deval Patrick in 2012.
Karstetter earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wellesley College in 1984. She spent the next several years working as an agency auditor and computer specialist at Ticor Title Insurance Company before completing a J.D. at New England School of Law in 1991.
After graduating from law school, Karstetter entered into private practice. She started as an associate at Belotti & Barretto, handling insurance defense litigation in the area of insurance fraud. She worked in that capacity until 1998, at which time she opened her own private practice as a sole practitioner. She spent the remainder of her legal career handling criminal defense, domestic relations, and employment discrimination matters.
Her memberships have included the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. She also sat on the Board of the Middlesex Defense Attorneys and the North End Music & Performing Arts Center.
Karstetter was born in Pennsylvania.