Healey nominates first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has nominated a former Middlesex County prosecutor and the first woman to serve as the next Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

If confirmed, Justice Amy Blake would be the first woman to hold the highest judicial position within the state’s intermediate appellate court. She would replace Chief Justice Mark Green, who recently retired after serving nearly 23 years on the Appeals Court, and seven years as Chief Justice.

Blake’s nomination will now move forward to the Governor’s Council for confirmation.

“Justice Blake’s decade of service on the Massachusetts Appeals Court and additional experience with the Probate and Family Court and in private practice make her an outstanding candidate for Chief Justice,” Healey said in a statement on Wednesday. “I’m proud to nominate her and appreciate the Governor’s Council’s review of her nomination. I’m also grateful for Chief Justice Mark Green for his leadership on the Appeals Court.”

Blake has served as Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court since 2014, when she was appointed by then-Gov. Deval Patrick.

Prior to the Appeals Court, Blake served as an Associate Justice on the Probate and Family Court from 2008 to 2014, according to biographical information provided by the state. She was previously a partner at Casner & Edwards LLP, an associate and partner at White, Inker, Aronson, an Associate at Yasi & Yasi, PC and an assistant district attorney for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at New England Law.

Blake is the District One director of the National Association of Women Judges, a fellow of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation and an associate editor of the Massachusetts Law Review. She served as co-chair of the Board of Overseers of the Boston Bar Journal and also serves on a number of committees, including the Trial Court’s Public Outreach Committee and the Supreme Judicial Court’s Committee on Judicial Guidelines for Self-Represented Litigants.

Blake has previously been named Jurist of the Year by the Middlesex County Bar Association, and Lawyer of the Year by the North Shore Women Lawyers’ Association.  She has also received the Distinguished Jurist Award from the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers.

Blake graduated from the University of Rochester and New England Law. While in law school, she was named a New England Scholar and awarded the Amos L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Achievement. She lives in Peabody with her husband.

The Appeals Court consists of a chief justice and 24 associate justices. It is a court of general appellate jurisdiction, which means that the justices review decisions that trial judges from the several Departments of the Trial Court have already made in various cases.

The Appeals Court also has jurisdiction over appeals from final decisions of three state agencies: the Appellate Tax Board, the Industrial Accident Board and the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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