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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2025
Governor Administers Ceremonial Oath of Office Swearing In Honorable Amy Lyn Blake as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court
BOSTON, MA -- At a ceremony in the John Adams Courthouse in Boston, Governor Maura Healey today administered the ceremonial Oath of Office to the Honorable Amy Lyn Blake, swearing her in as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Chief Justice Blake was administered the official Oath of Office on November 14, 2024.
"Our judicial system must be led by the most skilled, thoughtful and compassionate lawyers so that it can best serve the people of Massachusetts. Through her experience, her record and her reputation, Justice Amy Blake embodies all of these traits," Governor Healey said. "She is committed to ensuring that the Court remains rooted in the principles of justice and fairness, while adapting to meet the ever-changing needs of the people of our state. I am honored to swear her in today as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court."
Following the ceremonial Oath of Office, Chief Justice Blake addressed the crowd gathered in the Great Hall.
She began her remarks by thanking her colleagues in the Appeals Court, family and friends, former judges and lawyers with whom she worked, and Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kimberly Driscoll.
“Thank you, Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, for your trust in me, and for being the ones to deliver the final blow that shattered the Chief Justice glass ceiling. Until today, the Appeals Court was the only court in the Commonwealth that had never been led by a woman,” Chief Justice Blake said.
She spoke about her vision as a leader of the Appeals Court.
“It is the decisions that I will make in my new role as Chief Justice that are paramount to the success of the Court,” Chief Justice Blake said. “With that in mind, I would like to share with you what leadership means to me. It's about guiding the team to stay focused on delivering justice and keeping them motivated to give their best in achieving it.”
“This is especially important at the Appeals Court, where the stakes are high, and the consequences are significant. Leadership is about setting the stage for others' success and then stepping back and letting them shine. That is precisely what I hope to do as the eighth Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.”
Appeals Court Justice William Meade delivered opening remarks and served as Master of Ceremonies. Appeals Court Justice Ariane Vuono led the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Speakers included Governor Healey; Lieutenant Governor Driscoll; Supreme Judicial Court Justice Gabrielle Wolohojian; and Appeals Court Justice Kathryn Hand.
Chief Justice Blake fills the seat previously held by the Honorable Mark V. Green, who retired on September 1, 2024.
Chief Justice Blake was first appointed to the Probate and Family Court in 2008 by Governor Deval Patrick. In 2013, she was named "Distinguished Jurist" by the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers. In 2014, Governor Patrick appointed her to the Appeals Court as an Associate Justice. In 2017, she received the Jurist of the Year Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association.
Admitted to the bar in 1992, Chief Justice Blake 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. From 1994 to 2008 she focused her private practice on domestic relations law with the firms of White, Inker & Aronson, Yasi & Yasi, and Casner & Edwards, rising from associate to partner.
Chief Justice Blake graduated from the University of Rochester, New York, in 1987, and in 1992, graduated from New England Law School, cum laude. While in law school she was named a New England Scholar and awarded the Amos L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Achievement.
She 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 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. Chief Justice Blake is also a lecturer in Law at New England Law | Boston.
The Appeals Court is a court of general appellate jurisdiction and has twenty-five statutory justices, including the chief justice. The court decides between 1,400 and 1,700 cases a year. The justices, who sit in panels of three, review decisions made by Trial Court judges in the seven court departments. In addition to its panel jurisdiction, the Appeals Court runs a continuous single justice session, with a separate docket.
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