POST Commission The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission is charged with creating a mandatory certification process for police officers, as well as processes for decertification, suspension of certification, or reprimand in the event of certain misconduct. About us The POST Commission was established as part of the criminal justice reform enacted in Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020. By establishing the Commission, the Commonwealth is taking an important step to improve public safety and increase trust between members of law enforcement and the communities they serve. About the Commissioners Appointees of the Governor The Honorable Judge Margaret R. Hinkle (Ret.) served from 1993 until 2011 as a Justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, and will serve as Chair of the POST Commission. Since her retirement in 2011, Judge Hinkle has worked as an alternative dispute resolution professional for JAMS, a private alternative dispute resolution provider, serving as an arbitrator, mediator and discovery master. During her time on the Superior Court, Judge Hinkle presided over hundreds of cases, and served terms as the Administrative Justice of the Business Litigation Session and as the Suffolk County Regional Administrative Justice for Civil Business. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Hinkle served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston on the Economic Crimes Unit from 1989 until 1993, and as Director of the US Department of Justice's New England Bank Fraud Task Force from 1992 until 1993. Before joining the US Attorney's Office, Judge Hinkle began her legal career as a Law Clerk for Chief Judge Andrew A. Caffrey of the US District Court in Boston, serving from 1977 until 1978. She then worked in private practice for Goodwin, Procter & Hoar in Boston from 1978 until 1989, and as a Partner from 1986 until 1989. Judge Hinkle earned her Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School, and her Bachelor's Degree from College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota.