Judge Terrence Boren, the longest serving active judge in Marin Superior Court, will retire Tuesday after a career handling many of the county’s most serious criminal cases.

Boren, 73, was appointed to the bench in 1995 after working as a Marin County prosecutor for 21 years. Before that he spent about five years as a prosecutor in Riverside County.

“My life on both the prosecutor side and on the bench has been exciting and interesting, and in its own way wonderful,” he said. “I’ve been lucky and I’ve been blessed to have the life I have.”

The remainder of his term, which expires on Jan. 1, 2021, will be filled by a gubernatorial appointee.

Boren is known at the courthouse for both his soft-spoken graciousness on the bench, and his drive to put major felons away for the longest time possible in the most appellate-proof manner possible.

“Judge Boren is the consummate professional who always treats everyone with respect,” said Chief Deputy Public Defender David Brown. “He is intelligent and conscientious. I have seen him give many clients a chance to turn their lives around. On both a professional and personal level, he will be very much missed by many Marin lawyers.”

Boren’s most significant cases included the 2008 murder of a Novato man, Tong Van Le, who was gunned down in a conspiracy to prevent his testimony in a robbery at his San Francisco liquor store.

Boren kept the case on track through several years of legal maneuvering by six defendants and a cocaine scandal involving a Novato police detective. In the end, all six were convicted of various charges, including four who received life terms for murder.

As a Marin prosecutor, Boren handled hundreds of cases, including the infamous “San Quentin Six” prison escape attempt in 1971 that left three guards and three inmates dead. Three prisoners were convicted of murder and three were acquitted.

In addition to his trial work, Boren was also credited for administrative leadership. Judge Roy Chernus noted that Boren’s achievements included his role creating the Adult Drug Court “to emphasize treatment of addicts over incarceration.”

“Judge Terry Boren has been a wise, humble, hardworking and patient public servant for the people of Marin County for over 40 years,” Chernus said. “We shall miss him more than we can possibly say.”

Boren was born in Idaho and raised there and in Hayward. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University and his law degree at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Boren ran for judge in 1984 while he was a prosecutor. He challenged an incumbent, Beverly Savitt, partly on the assertion that she was too soft on criminals.

Savitt won handily, but after she retired, Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Boren to her seat.

Boren said he plans to spend his retirement, at least for now, catching up on reading, writing and spending time with family. His family includes seven grandchildren.

Marin Superior Court has 12 full judgeships. Although the state judiciary had recently considered moving some judicial positions to different counties to alleviate caseloads, the judgeship Boren is vacating will remain in Marin, said Cathal Conneely, spokesperson for the Judicial Council of California.

The judicial appointee who replaces Boren can run for election after the term is up. Superior Court terms are six years.

With Boren’s departure, the longest serving active judge in Marin will be Verna Adams. She was appointed to the bench in 1999.