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Mary Kay Lanthier

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Mary Kay Lanthier

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Vermont

Tenure

2024 - Present

Years in position

Predecessor:Geoffrey Crawford (Nonpartisan)

Education

Bachelor's

Amherst College, 1993

Law

Northeastern University School of Law, 1996

Contact

Official website

Mary Kay Lanthier is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the District of Vermont. She was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on June 4, 2024, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on September 11, 2024, by a vote of 55-42.^[1]^[2]^[3] Lanthier was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

TheUnited States District Court for the District of Vermont is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Prior to joining the court, Lanthier was the supervising attorney in the Rutland County Public Defender’s Office.^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Vermont (2024-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On June 4, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Lanthier to theUnited States District Court for the District of Vermont.^[1] She was confirmed by a 55-42 vote of the U.S. Senate on September 11, 2024.^[2] Lanthier received commission on September 12, 2024.^[3] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Mary Kay Lanthier
Court:United States District Court for the District of Vermont
Progress
Confirmed 99 days after nomination.
ANominated: June 4, 2024
AABA Rating: Well qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: June 20, 2024
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: August 1, 2024
AConfirmed: September 11, 2024
AVote: 55-42

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Lanthier by a vote of 55-42 on September 11, 2024.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Lanthier confirmation vote (September 11, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	4	42	3
Independent	3	0	0
Total	55^[5]	42	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Lanthier's nomination on June 20, 2024.^[6] Lanthier was reported to the full Senate on August 1, 2024, after a 13-7 committee vote.^[7]^[8]Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On May 23, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Mary Kay Lanthier to theUnited States District Court for the District of Vermont. The president officially nominated Lanthier on June 4, 2024.Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by PresidentJoe Biden.

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated Lanthierwell qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Lanthier was nominated to replace JudgeGeoffrey Crawford, who will assumesenior status upon Lanthier's commission.^[10]

Biography

Early life and education

Lanthier was born in 1971 in Rutland, Vermont. She earned a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1993 and a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 1996.^[4]^[3]

Professional career

2024-present: Judge,United States District Court for the District of Vermont
2007-2024: Supervising attorney in the Rutland County Public Defender’s Office
2017-2023: Adjunct professor, Vermont Law and Graduate School
2003-2007: Private practice
2000-2003: Public defender with the Addison County Public Defender’s Office
1998-2000: Associate
1996-1998: Law clerk^[4]

About the court

The District of Vermont hasoriginal jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the District of Vermont consists of all thecounties in the state ofVermont.

The court has locations inBurlington andRutland.

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.