If confirmed, Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson would become the first openly LGBT judge to sit on a federal circuit court in the US, according to The National Law Journal.
President Biden nominated her to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today.
Reports VT Digger:
Robinson, 56, played a leading role in the movement to legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont and subsequently served as legal counsel to then-Gov. Peter Shumlin. He appointed her to the state Supreme Court in 2011.
The powerful Second Circuit hears federal appeals originating in New York, Connecticut and Vermont. Historically, at least one member of the court has hailed from Vermont. The seat opened up in March when Judge Peter Hall of North Chittenden took senior status — just days before he died at 72.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the most senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Biden for nominating Robinson, calling her “a tireless champion for equal rights and equal justice in the mold of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
“I know that, if confirmed, Justice Robinson would serve on the Second Circuit with integrity, humility, and a deep reverence for the rule of law,” Leahy said in a written statement. “And I have no doubt that she would make all Vermonters and Americans proud.”
In his statement, Senator Leahy went on to call Justice Robinson “one of our nation’s most important pioneers in the cause of LGBTQ rights,” noting that:
As a civil litigator specializing in constitutional law and LGBTQ rights, Beth served as co-counsel the Baker v. State of Vermont lawsuit, in which the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that the state’s prohibition on same-sex marriage denied equal rights guaranteed by the Vermont Constitution. Beth’s success in the Baker case directly resulted in Vermont’s enactment of the first civil union law in America.
and:
She co-founded and chaired the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, a group that advocates for LGBTQ rights in Vermont and successfully pushed to enact Vermont’s full marriage equality law in 2009. Beth’s successes provided a blueprint for advocates in other states to achieve more equality across the country. As a result, Beth has widely — and rightfully — been hailed as one of our nation’s most important pioneers in the cause of LGBTQ rights.
Read more on this breaking story at VT Digger.
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