Gov. Maura Healey has tapped Justice Amy Blake to become the first female chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
Blake has been a justice on the Appeals Court since 2014 and, if her elevation is confirmed by the Governor’s Council, would succeed Chief Justice Mark Green, who resigned after a nearly seven-year tenure as chief. Blake’s judicial career began on the Family and Probate Court in 2008 and she moved to the Appeals Court in 2014, nominated both times by Governor. Deval Patrick.
“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 her announcement. “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.”
Justice Amy Lyn Blake graduated from the University of Rochester, New York, in 1987. She attended New England Law School and graduated, cum laude, in 1992. While in law school she was named a New England Scholar and awarded the Amos L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Achievement.
Admitted to the bar in 1992, she served as an Assistant District Attorney until 1994, prosecuting cases in the District Court bench and six person jury sessions while supervising the District Attorney’s Office in two district courts.
In 2008 Governor Deval Patrick appointed her to the Probate & Family Court, where she was named “Distinguished Jurist” in 2013 by the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers. In 2017, she received the Jurist of the Year Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association. Justice Blake is also a lecturer in Law at New England Law Boston.
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https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/healey-nominates-first-female-chief-justice-of-appeals-court/
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/massachusetts-governor-nominates-new-appeals-court-chief-justice