At a Boston Bar Association lunch program today, Judge Allan Van Gestel informed the audience that he would not put himself on the “recall” list at the end of this year. In other words, at the age of 71 Judge Van Gestel will be retiring from the bench at the close of 2007, after running the session (with the help of some other Superior Court Judges) since its formation in 2000. For some background on the recall issue, click here.
It looks like Judge Gants (who has been the second judge in the BLS (“BLS2”) for the last year or so) has been groomed to take the helm of the BLS after Judge Van Gestel departs, although this is by no means a certainty. If Judge Gants does take over BLS1, it remains to be seen who will take his place in BLS2.