The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Virginia Supreme Court Justice Barbara Keenan to the Richmond-based Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.  

With her confirmation, Justice Keenan will be the first female judge from Virginia to serve on the federal appeals court.

After the vote, Senator Warner released the following statement:

“I congratulate Justice Keenan on her confirmation to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court in Richmond.

“After interviewing many quality candidates, Senator Webb and I were pleased to put her name forward last summer. She was nominated by the President in September, and the Judiciary Committee endorsed her unanimously more than four months ago.

“I am disappointed that Justice Keenan’s noncontroversial nomination was delayed more than four months by unnecessary filibusters that came to an end with two unanimous, bipartisan votes today.

“I urge my colleagues in this institution, on both sides of the aisle, to step away from the politics of obstruction and delay, and work together to move our nation and our troubled economy forward.”

Prior to the vote, Senator Warner spoke on the Senate floor in support of Justice Keenan's confirmation:

Justice Keenan was nominated by President Obama in September and the Judiciary Committee unanimously approved her nomination in October.  

Justice Keenan, 59, has served on the Supreme Court of Virginia since 1991. Prior to that, Keenan served as a judge on the General District and Circuit courts of Fairfax County and the Virginia Court of Appeals. She was the first woman appointed to the bench in Virginia, and one of the initial ten appointees to the Virginia Court of Appeals following its creation in 1985. Earlier in her career, she worked as an assistant prosecutor in Fairfax and briefly worked as an attorney in private practice.

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Justice Barbara Keenan for the Fourth Circuit
On June 2, 2009, Senator Warner and Senator Jim Webb recommended that President Obama nominate Virignia Supreme Court Justice Barbara M. Keenan to serve as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.