Former Chief Judge of 1st Circuit Dies

A former chief judge of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has died at the age of 90.

Frank Coffin served as a judge for 40 years and was chief judge of the circuit for 11 years, the New York Times reports. He is also a former congressman and the author of two well-regarded books on judging, On Appeal and The Ways of a Judge.

Coffin died Dec. 7 after complications from surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, a friend told the Times.