Franklin Elia, the longest-serving justice on the Sixth District Court of Appeal, announced Monday that he will retire from the San Jose-based appellate court at the end of the month.

Elia’s departure marks the end of a 34-year tenure on the appellate bench and a 47-year legal career that started in 1975 when, as a recent graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law, he joined the attorney general’s office as a deputy in the criminal division.