Justice Margaret H. Marshall, a former Harvard general counsel, was confirmed yesterday as the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.

The Governor's Council, an elected body in charge of approving the governor's judicial nominations, voted 6-3 in favor of Marshall. The margin was unchanged from the councilors' stated positions of about two weeks ago, when Marshall was accused of having an anti-Catholic bias and of being unqualified.

The chief justice whom Marshall replaces, Herbert P. Wilkins '51, former president of the Board of Overseers, said he believes in Marshall's intelligence as a judge and skill in public relations.

"She has a vast amount of experience. It's important for the chief justice to relate to people, to be a good communicator--and she's outgoing," he said.

Indeed, Marshall's candidacy met little resistance until several controversies surfaced.

On Sept. 27, Roman Catholic Cardinal Bernard F. Law '53 wrote a letter to Gov. A. Paul Cellucci saying that Marshall was "open to the serious charge of anti-Catholicism," the Boston Globe reported on Sept. 28.

In the letter, Law objected to Marshall's rebuking of Learned Hand Professor of Law Mary Ann Glendon in 1993 when Marshall worked for Harvard. Marshall objected to Glendon's use of Harvard stationery for a letter to Catholic priests.

Then, on Oct. 5, Massachusetts Citizens For Life objected that Marshall had served on the board of Crittenton Hastings House, a group that performs abortions. They initiated a campaign to telephone councilors asking them to vote against her.