Healey nominates first female chief justice of appeals court

Gov. Maura Healey continued to put her imprint on the judiciary Wednesday, tapping Justice Amy Blake to be elevated to the first female chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Blake has been a justice of the Appeals Court since 2014 and, if her elevation is confirmed by the Governor's Council, would succeed Chief Justice Mark Green, who resigned earlier this month 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 Gov. Deval Patrick.

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"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."

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said Blake "is uniquely qualified" to lead the state's intermediate appellate court, which consists of a chief justice and 24 associate justices.

The governor's calendar for August shows that Healey held an interview in her ceremonial office with Blake on the morning of Friday, Aug. 16. The governor interviewed another associate justice of the Appeals Court, Kenneth Desmond, in her office that afternoon.

Before becoming a judge, Blake was a partner at the Boston law firm Casner & Edwards; an associate and partner at White, Inker, Aronson; and an associate at Yasi & Yasi. She worked for two years as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County and also has been an adjunct faculty member at New England Law.

Blake graduated from the University of Rochester and New England Law. She lives in Peabody.