Virginia's U.S. senators have recommended that President Barack Obama nominate Justice Barbara M. Keenan of the Virginia Supreme Court to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If nominated by Obama and confirmed by the Senate, Keenan would be the first woman from Virginia to serve on the federal appeals court, which serves Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina.
Keenan, 59, has served on the Virginia Supreme Court since 1991. Before that, she was on the Virginia Court of Appeals and was a Circuit Court judge and a General District Court judge in Fairfax County.
In 1980, Keenan was not yet 30 when the General Assembly elected her to the General District Court judgeship.
Sens. Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner said yesterday that Keenan has received the highest ratings from leading bar associations.
"Justice Keenan has served with distinction at every level of state court in Virginia," Warner said.
Keenan was one of the initial 10 appointees to the Virginia Court of Appeals after its creation in 1985. Earlier, she was an assistant prosecutor in Fairfax and worked as an attorney in private practice.
In February, Keenan wrote the opinion when the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a wealthy Fairfax County collector could keep a rare 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence that was claimed by a small town in Maine.
Keenan lives with her husband in Alexandria. She is a graduate of Cornell University and the George Washington University Law School. She earned a master's degree in law from the University of Virginia School of Law.
A spokeswoman for Webb said Keenan has bipartisan support. Endorsing her are former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry, a Democrat, and former Attorney General Richard Cullen, a Republican.
Since 1990, federal law has authorized 15 judgeships for the 4th Circuit; jurists from Virginia traditionally have held four of the seats. The court has four vacant seats.
Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.
Barbara Milano
KeenanAge: 59
Family: Married to Alan E. Rosenblatt, a retired Virginia Beach Circuit Court judge
Residence: Alexandria
Education: Cornell University, 1971; George Washington University Law School, 1974; master's degree in law from the University of Virginia School of Law, 1992
Career highlights: assistant commonwealth's attorney, Fairfax County, 1974-76; Fairfax General District Court judge, 1980-82; Fairfax Circuit Court judge, 1982-85; judge on Virginia Court of Appeals, 1985-91; Virginia Supreme Court justice, 1991-present
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