WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Leahy: Vt. judge confirmation fastest this year
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Associated Press - November 23, 2009 2:55 PM ET
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says the confirmation of Vermont's new federal judge by the Senate was the fastest one this year.
Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says it took 17 days between the confirmation hearing for Vermont state judge Christina Reiss (Rice) and Saturday's confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
The 47-year-old Reiss is from Essex Junction. She will sit in the federal court in Rutland.
Reiss will succeed U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha, who is taking senior status, meaning he will no longer hear cases full time.
Judicial confirmations can sometimes take months or even years, but Leahy said he persuaded his colleagues to confirm Reiss before Thanksgiving.
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