Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin at noon today announced that he is nominating Beth Robinson to join the five member State Supreme Court.
Burlington Free Press: Beth Robinson chosen by Shumlin for Vermont Supreme Court
Robinson, a respected Vermont attorney, was one of the leading strategists for the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, the group that spearheaded the drive for marriage equality in the state. She was one of the attorneys who brought the initial law suit that lead the state Supreme Court to require marriage equality in 1999. When the state legislature opted to pass civil unions in 2000 instead of full marriage equality, Robinson helped guide the political response to the anti-gay "Take Back Vermont" backlash and began the slow strategic work needed to lay the groundwork for passage of full marriage equality by the state legislature (over Republican Governor Jim Douglas's veto) in 2009.
Robinson worked closely with then State Senate President Peter Shumlin to get the historic legislation passed, and played a critical role in helping secure his extremely narrow primary and general election victories in 2010. When Shumlin became Governor in January of this year, he named Robinson as his chief legal counsel.
When Justice Denise Johnson, the first female Justice on the Supreme Court, announced her retirement in May, Robinson's name immediately jumped to the top of the list of potential replacements according to political insiders in the state. She was one of many candidates vetted by the judicial appointments committee and interviewed by Governor Shumlin for the vacancy.
Robinson joins openly lesbian judges currently serving on the state Supreme Courts of Massachusetts, Oregon and Hawaii.