Senate confirms Keenan to seat on US Court of Appeals for Fourth Circuit
By APTuesday, March 2, 2010
Senate confirms Keenan to Appeals Court seat
WASHINGTON — The Senate has unanimously confirmed Virginia Supreme Court Justice Barbara Milano Keenan to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The vote Tuesday was 99-0 for Keenan, the first female judge elected in Virginia and the only woman appointed to the Virginia Court of Appeals when it was created in 1985. The Richmond-based Fourth Circuit covers Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
President Barack Obama nominated Keenan last September. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her in October.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., lamented that there are now some 100 vacancies among 876 federal judgeships, that the Fourth Circuit currently has four vacancies and that the seat Keenan will fill has been empty for two years.
Tags: Barack Obama, Judicial Appointments And Nominations, North America, United States, Virginia, Washington
