Press Release  Honorable Tracy-Lee Lyons Appointed Chief Justice of the Boston Municipal Court

BOSTON, MA — Trial Court Chief Justice Jeffrey A. Locke today announced the appointment of Judge Tracy-Lee Lyons as Chief Justice of the Boston Municipal Court for a five-year term effective January 1, 2024, in accordance with G.L. c.211B, §5. She will succeed Chief Justice Roberto Ronquillo, Jr., whose ten-year tenure as chief justice ends on December 31, 2023.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Judge Tracy-Lee Lyons as Chief of the Boston Municipal Court,” said Trial Court Chief Justice Locke. “She has served in key leadership roles for the Court and is committed to continuing the advancement of the Court’s accountability and efficiency. Her judicial colleagues enthusiastically support her appointment, and I am confident that she will continue Chief Justice Ronquillo’s legacy of excellence.” 

“I am honored and privileged to have been chosen to serve as the Chief Justice of the Boston Municipal Court,” said Judge Lyons. “I am humbled by the support of my colleagues and grateful to Chief Justice Jeffrey Locke, incoming Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger and Court Administrator Thomas Ambrosino for placing their confidence in me.”

Judge Lyons was appointed to the Boston Municipal Court by Governor Mitt Romney in 2006. She has served as the Boston Municipal Court Central Division’s presiding judge for the Mental Health Court session since 2010, and its presiding justice for the Boston Outpatient Assisted Treatment Program. She has served on the Boston Municipal Court Education Committee since 2006 and has chaired that committee since 2014. Judge Lyons has also been a member of several other court committees, including the Civil Rules Committee, the Domestic Violence Committee, and the Supreme Judicial Court Judiciary-Media Committee.

Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Lyons served in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from 1993 to 2003. She was Chief of the Sexual Assault Unit there and previously served in the Child Abuse Unit. From 1990 to 1993 she worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office as lead prosecutor in the Stoughton District Court and was also a Special Prosecutor in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. She received her law degree from New England Law | Boston and a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University.

The Boston Municipal Court Department is comprised of eight divisions with 30 authorized judicial positions in Suffolk County. The Massachusetts Trial Court includes seven court departments with 393 judges who deliver justice in 94 courthouses across the state. 

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