Senate Judiciary holds confirmation hearings for seven judicial nominees

The Senate Judiciary Committee conducted confirmation hearings on Jan. 17 for seven judicial nominees who introduced themselves and answered senators’ questions on backgrounds, docket assignments and judicial philosophies.

The nominees were: Joseph McClain (environmental division nominee), Jessica Seaman (magistrate/family-division nominee), Judge Rountree, Judge Desano, Judge Badgwick, Judge Patrick and Tim Doherty. Committee members questioned nominees about their relevant experience, how they would handle access-to-justice issues, the role of courts in environmental justice and restorative justice options. The committee did not take any confirmation votes at the hearing; the chair said nominees’ names will remain on the committee page for about a week before proceeding to a floor vote.

Joseph McClain, who said he was born in Barre and raised in Northfield, described roughly 28½ years of legal practice and work “for approximately 40 years” in public-sector families; he told senators his practice focused on municipal law, land use and zoning. McClain said he has practiced before the Environmental Division since 1996 and estimated he had worked on “closer to 200” land use and administrative mitigation matters. Asked how he would handle environmental justice concerns, McClain said judges should be mindful of potential regulatory mechanisms that produce unequal consequences and said his municipal-law experience helps him identify when inequities may exist.

Jessica Seaman said she is a magistrate serving in the family division and explained magistrates generally remain in the family division rather than rotating like superior court judges. Seaman told the committee she has worked nearly 10 years at the Office of Child Support in roles including staff and managing attorney, has served as an administrative hearings officer, and helped advance the Vermont Parentage Act. She described magistrates’ authority over parentage, child support, spousal support and related proceedings and said magistrates cover geographic regions but provide mutual coverage when needed.

Laura Rountree said she moved to Vermont seven years ago, described a background that included employment as chief of the civil division at the Attorney General’s Office and said she took part in training and shadowing before beginning to sit on dockets; she told senators she expects to begin sitting in civil and family dockets in mid-February and emphasized judges can address systemic inequities by participating in rule committees and procedural reform.

Judge Desano said she has a background as a prosecutor and as an attorney who worked with vulnerable populations, including domestic violence dockets and multidisciplinary teams; she said the new judicial positions created by the Legislature will help reduce docket backlogs and said early steps to speed cases include encouraging parties to move matters along, particularly in juvenile cases.

Judge Badgwick, a native Vermonter who said she has done civil defense, workers’ compensation and guardian ad litem work, described pro bono and low-bono work and said access to justice includes making court processes and resources available and visible to litigants, including remote hearings and community outreach.

Judge Patrick said she is newly sworn in, described work in multiple dockets and emphasized education, resource use and community outreach to counter public perceptions that courts are inaccessible or biased. She said increasing access includes encouraging pro bono work, providing simple lists of local resources for litigants and continuing remote-hearing options.

Tim Doherty described a career that included federal clerkships, work as a federal prosecutor and later criminal defense practice. Doherty said restorative justice is an important tool that can keep appropriate cases out of the traditional criminal process, connect people harmed with people who caused harm and help mend community ties. He stressed that judges should evaluate criminal cases on the particular facts and be cautious about allowing public rhetoric to affect courtroom decisions.

Across nominees, senators repeatedly pressed nominees on access to justice, how to handle self-represented litigants, perceptions of judicial neutrality and the judiciary’s role in responding to sentencing disparities and overrepresentation of people of color in the criminal justice system. Several nominees described training, committee participation and outreach as ways judges can address structural inequities; none of the nominees were confirmed at the committee hearing.

The committee adjourned after the hearing. The chair said the nominees’ names will remain on the committee page for approximately a week and that the next procedural step is a vote on the Senate floor.