Massachusetts Appeals Court Chief Justice Stepping Down September 1

The chief justice plans to step down two years before he turns 70, the age at which judges must retire from the bench under the state Constitution.

Green joined the Massachusetts Land Court in 1997 and was elevated to the Appeals Court in 2001. He has served as chief justice since December 2017, when his nomination by Governor Charlie Baker to lead the court was approved by the Governor’s Council.

In his letter to Healey, Green did not say why he was leaving his job. He offered a stellar assessment of the Appeals Court.

“I believe the Massachusetts Appeals Court is the finest intermediate state appellate court in the nation,” Green wrote. “It has been humbling to have been entrusted with its stewardship these past seven years, and I am confident that the person you appoint to succeed me will make the Court even stronger.”

The Boston Globe reported on Green’s plans, citing an email message from Green to his colleagues in which he said he decided to step down after weighing “a mix of personal and professional considerations.”

“In a nutshell, as others who have reached this same point previously have commented to me: ‘when it’s time, you just know,’ ” Green wrote, according to the Globe, which reported that Green “intends to lobby lawmakers for funding for new positions in the coming months.”