New Rutland-based federal judge Mary Kay Lanthier sworn in

By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

An earlier version of this story appeared in the Brattleboro Reformer and other newspapers.

Vermont’s newest federal judge has been sworn in quietly and is on the job in Rutland.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Lanthier took her oath of office from Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss in Burlington on Tuesday and has begun exercising her official duties.

While some family and court staff attended the informal ceremony for Judge Lanthier, a formal investiture ceremony will be held in Rutland in the near future, Judge Reiss told Vermont News First.

Lanthier, 53, of Orwell is hitting the ground running.  Judge Reiss said Lanthier will undergo some judicial training and is hiring her staff, which includes law clerks and a judicial assistant.

The chief judge said she expects that a portion of the pending criminal and civil cases in federal court will be transferred to Lanthier by Thursday and she will begin to schedule hearings shortly after.

Lanthier will preside primarily at the U.S. District Courthouse at 151 West Street in Rutland.

Lanthier did not respond to a message left with court staff seeking comment.

The U.S. Senate voted 55-42 to confirm Judge Lanthier to fill the fulltime vacancy created by District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford.

Crawford elected to switch in early August to Senior Status, which will give him a chance to limit his caseload.  He has been on the federal bench 10 years after serving as a state trial court judge and associate justice at the Vermont Supreme Court.

The annual pay for federal district court judges was bumped this year from $232,600 to $243,300.

Judge Lanthier served as the Supervising Attorney in the Rutland County Public Defender’s Office for 17 years.

In addition to her legal experience at the Rutland County Public Defender’s Office, she previously worked in private practice and public defense, working primarily on family law, workers’ compensation, and criminal cases.

Judge Lanthier received her undergraduate degree from Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. in 1993 and her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Mass. in 1996.  She also served as an adjunct professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School for about 6 years.