Virginia Supreme Court justice up for U.S. Court of Appeals

A Virginia Supreme Court justice has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

Justice Barbara Milano Keenan has served on the Virginia Supreme Court since 1991 and Monday was nominated to the Court of Appeals by President Barack Obama, according to a news release from the White House.

Keenan became the first female judge in Virginia when she was elected in 1980 to the General District Court in Fairfax County. Two years later, she became the first female Circuit Court judge when elected to the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, and she was the only woman appointed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia upon its creation in 1985.

By 1991, when she was elected to the state Supreme Court, she became the first judge to have served at all four levels of Virginia's judicial system.

"In nearly three decades on the bench, Justice Keenan has earned the respect of her colleagues and the broader legal community for her balanced and thoughtful judgment in cases both clear and complicated," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said in a statement.

"I am confident she will continue to wield justice fairly and equitably as a 4th Circuit judge."

Keenan received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1971, a law degree from George Washington University in 1974 and a master's degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1992.

Before becoming a judge, she served as a prosecutor in Fairfax County from 1974 to 1976 and worked in private practice from 1976 to 1980.

Lauren King, (757) 446-2309, lauren.king@pilotonline.com