Biden nominates Mary Kay Lanthier, Rutland County public defender, to Vt federal judgeship

By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger

President Joe Biden plans to nominate Mary Kay Lanthier, the supervising attorney in the Rutland County Defender’s Office, to be the next federal judge for Vermont, the White House announced Thursday morning, May 23.

Lanthier, who has served in her current role since 2007, would succeed Judge Geoffrey Crawford on the federal bench if confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Crawford formally announced last summer his intention to step down this August and move to senior status. In that capacity, Crawford would still preside over cases, but on a more limited basis.

Prior to her position in Rutland, Lanthier served as a public defender in the Addison County Public Defender’s Office from 2000 to 2003. She also worked in private practice as an associate and then partner at the firm Marsh & Wagner from 2003 to 2007, and as an associate at Keiner & Dumont from 1998 to 2000. 

From 1996 to 1998, Lanthier served as a law clerk for trial court judges in Chittenden and Addison county courts. She received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 1996 and her bachelor’s from Amherst College in 1993.

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., announced in a joint statement last November that together they were organizing a joint Judicial Nomination Advisory Panel to screen candidates for the post and make recommendations to Biden for filling Crawford’s post. 

It carries a lifetime appointment. 

In her current job, Lanthier represents indigent clients facing criminal charges ranging from murder to retail theft. She described that work in a 2016 story in Seven Days. 

“There’s no better job,” she said at the time. “You just get to meet so many people at so many different stages of their lives and really stand between them and the power of the government.” Lanthier said, “The bad guys aren’t always bad … You shouldn’t be defined by the worst mistake or worst thing you did.”

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Lanthier would join U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss on the federal bench from Vermont. Reiss presides in U.S. District Court in Burlington while Lanthier would primarily preside in U.S. District Court in Rutland. 

Judge William K. Sessions III continues to serve on senior status, a role he has held since he stepped down from the bench full-time in 2014.