Mary Kay Lanthier’s nomination to serve as a federal judge in Vermont appears to face little resistance as members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee posed few questions to her during her nomination hearing Thursday.
Lanthier was among four judicial nominees from across the country who appeared in person before the panel in Washington D.C. during the roughly two-hour proceeding.
Other nominees were grilled by the Republican members of the Democratic-controlled committee on everything from legal cases they were part of to past political contributions. Lanthier had only a few questions directed her way.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., provided remarks to the committee in support of Lanthier as the hearing began.
“One thing that struck me was not only her deep love of law, but a deep love of Rutland, where this judgeship is based,” said Sanders, who is not a member of the panel.
‘For Mary Kay,” he added, “I know there is particular pride in doing this important work in her hometown, the town that she grew up in and for being a role model for the young people growing up there today about what is possible.”
Lanthier, who was born in Rutland and lives in Orwell, was nominated by President Joe Biden in May to serve as a federal judge in Vermont. Sanders and fellow Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., had recommended Lanthier for the position.
Lanthier serves as the supervising attorney in the Rutland County Public Defender’s Office. She has worked in that role since 2007.
She would succeed Judge Geoffrey Crawford on the federal bench if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He formally announced last summer his intention to step down in August and serve in a more limited senior status role.
Welch, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired a large portion of the hearing Thursday as the regular chair, Sen Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, wasn’t there for the entire proceeding.
“I’ve been a member of the Vermont bar for many decades,” said Welch, a lawyer. “I know the bar, the court, and the state will benefit from (Lanthier’s) incredible service.”
Seated behind Lanthier in the committee room were many of her family members and supporters who made the trek from Vermont to Washington to attend the hearing, including her mother, who lives in Hydeville, a village within Castleton.
Also among those who traveled to the nation’s capital for the hearing to support Lanthier was Vermont Supreme Court Justice William Cohen, who had worked as a trial court judge in Rutland County prior to his appointment to the state’s highest court.
Speaking of her family life growing up in Vermont, Lanthier began to tear up, telling the committee members, “Sorry, this is more emotional than I anticipated.”
She then spoke of her parents and how they raised her and her siblings. “They instilled in us the value of education, hard work, and making sure that whatever we did, we did it well,” Lanthier said.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, also a lawyer, remarked on Lanthier’s courtroom experience, including taking many cases to trial.
“Fifty cases to a jury verdict, hope you’re getting ready to write a book about it,’ Durgin said. “Tell me about that experience, what’s been your biggest surprise when it comes to jury response?”
Lanthier replied that she has been heartened each time by the dedication jurors take to the task of hearing a case.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Lanthier would join U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss on the federal bench in Vermont. Reiss currently presides in U.S. District Court in Burlington. Lanthier would primarily preside in U.S. District Court in Rutland.
Lanthier worked as a public defender in the Addison County Public Defender’s Office from 2000 to 2003, prior to serving as a public defender in Rutland County. She has also previously worked in private practice.
She received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 1996 and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1993.
The Senate panel Thursday took no votes on any of the nominations. Instead, Welch told panel members who were still in the room as the hearing came to close that written questions for the nominees would be accepted through June 27.
Among the letters submitted to the committee in support of Lanthier’s nomination was one signed by several prosecutors who had experience on the opposite side of cases from Lanthier as prosecutors in Rutland County over the years.
“While we routinely disagree and advocate against each other’s position in the courtroom, it is through that process that we have come to know Attorney Lanthier to embody the highest principles of the practice of law,” the letter stated. “We strongly believe she is the right person to serve as the next Federal District Court Judge for the District of Vermont.”
Among those signing the letter were Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan and Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough, who previously served as a deputy state’s attorney in Rutland County.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, the lone Republican seated on the panel at the time of Lanthier’s testimony, did not ask her any legal questions. Instead, Kennedy asked Lanthier’s daughter, who was seated in the gallery, if there was anything she wanted to say and she declined.
“If you change your mind, just let me know, OK?” Kennedy told her.
“If you say anything, be careful,” Welch said to Lanthier’s daughter, drawing a laugh from the crowd.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Mary Kay Lanthier’s nomination to federal bench in Vermont draws praise in Senate hearing.