BOSTON, March 3, 2014—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following statement on the retirement of Chief Justice Roderick Ireland:

“Having appeared before Chief Justice Ireland many times as a prosecutor, I’m sorry to hear of his departure from the high court but very happy for him personally.  As a trial judge and as Chief Justice, his rulings were thoughtful, measured, and balanced.  He’s a gentleman on and off the bench with the ideal judicial temperament. He brought decades of courtroom experience to the SJC, and he understood as a practical centrist how his rulings would affect real people in the community.  He’s been a unifying figure on the SJC and I hope Governor Patrick selects in his replacement a judge with very similar qualities.”