President Joe Biden is proposing Beth Robinson, a Vermont judge—who helped pave the road for same-sex marriage legalisation to become the first out LGBT woman—to serve on a federal circuit court.
Biden has appointed tapped Robinson, an associate justice on the Vermont Supreme Court since 2011, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, according to the White House. Connecticut, New York, and Vermont are all part of the court's jurisdiction.
Before being nominated to the Vermont Supreme Court in 1999, Robinson assisted in the argument of the case that resulted in Vermont's civil unions statute, the country's first legal acknowledgement of same-sex partnerships, a predecessor to gay marriage.
From 2010 to 2011, Robinson was the counsel to the Democratic Governor of Vermont, Peter Shumlin. Robinson worked as a civil litigator at Langrock Sperry & Wool from 1993 to 2010, focusing on employment law, workers' compensation, contract disputes, and family law.
Robinson previously practised white-collar criminal defence at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C. From 1989 to 1990, she worked as a law clerk for Judge David Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Biden is also proposing Charlotte Sweeney, an employment law attorney, to the United States District Court in Colorado, according to the White House. She would be the first out LGBT woman to be appointed to a federal district court judge west of the Mississippi.
Biden has revealed 35 judicial nominees for the federal bench so far.
Image Source: ABC News