By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First

Two of Vermont’s top federal prosecutors in recent years were named to the Vermont Supreme Court by Governor Phil Scott on Monday.

Former U.S. Attorney Christina E. Nolan, 46, of Burlington and current First Assistant Michael P. Drescher, 60, of Hinesburg will need to be confirmed by the Vermont Senate.

They are due to replace retiring Associate Justices Karen Carroll, 62, of Vernon and William Cohen, 68, of Rutland.

Nolan and Drescher beat out several finalists submitted to the Governor for the two posts, including a few sitting judges from the state court system. The finalists were deemed well qualified by the Judicial Nominating Board.

Their swearing in ceremonies will be announced at a later date.

Nolan was employed from 2010 to 2021 at the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont, serving first as an assistant in the Criminal Division for nearly eight years, and then as the U.S. Attorney for Vermont. Following the bipartisan recommendation of former Senior Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt. and Governor Scott, Nolan was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

She was the first woman to ever serve as U.S. Attorney for Vermont.

Nolan has focused on complex civil litigation, government enforcement actions, false claims act, white collar, felony criminal defense, and internal investigations throughout her career.

For the past 12 months, Drescher has been running the federal office on Elmwood Avenue while holding the titles acting U.S. Attorney and as first assistant. Vermont is waiting for Republican President Donald J. Trump to nominate a permanent replacement for Democrat Nikolas “Kolo” Kerest of Shelburne, who resigned Jan. 20, 2025.

Nolan, a moderate Republican, had been in the running to return as the U.S. Attorney in Vermont, but friends said she withdrew her name from consideration from the long-stalled appointment.

Vermont’s three-member Congressional delegation has been combative toward Trump, who appears to not be in a rush to fill the spot. In past decades Leahy had the ear of both Democrats and Republicans in the White House and got nominations rushed through..

Following law school, Drescher was a law clerk for Federal Judge Fred I. Parker, who was then Vermont’s judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City. After clerking for Judge Parker, Drescher went to work for the law firm now known as Sheehey Furlong & Behm PC in Burlington, becoming a partner in 2000. At the firm, he litigated in Vermont Superior Court, before the Public Service Board (now known as the Public Utility Commission), and in Federal Court.

In late 2001, then-U.S. Attorney Peter Hall hired Drescher as an assistant U.S. Attorney. Since January 2002 Drescher has served as an assistant, including as first assistant United States attorney — the number two position in the office, which has about 50 lawyers, investigators and the legal professional staff.

“Having the opportunity to join the men and women of the Vermont judiciary is an extraordinary privilege, and I am deeply honored to have been selected by the Governor to serve on the Supreme Court,” Drescher said.

“I have spent the last 30 years working with and appearing before Vermont judges in state and federal courts. Drawing on that experience, I pledge to help lead a court system in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect, justice is administered fairly and efficiently, and individual rights are protected,” Drescher said.

Drescher has scored high marks while in the office and was selected as one of four federal prosecutors nationwide by the Department of Justice for a press conference hosted by Attorney General Pam Bondi in Florida last summer to highlight offices that were doing extraordinary work recently.

Nolan found herself unwillingly in the news last summer when she brought a handgun into the state courthouse in Brattleboro. Officials tried to keep the case away from the media, but Vermont News First and the Brattleboro Reformer did uncover it.

The gun was seized by screening personnel, and Brattleboro Police said they were summoned. No public charges were filed.

Nolan has refused to discuss the incident or even return phone calls. She reportedly was offered a chance to undergo an alternative court program, but the state prosecutor refused to confirm details because the diversion program was considered confidential.

Vermont News First said there was some thought the incident might derail Nolan’s efforts to replace Justice Carroll, who was planning to step down in August, or for Nolan to return to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

While Gov. Scott was contemplating replacing Carroll, Associate Justice William Cohen of Rutland announced he would retire in December, paving the way for a second appointment to the high court.

Before the retirements of Carroll and Cohen, four of the five justices lived in the bottom four southern counties of Vermont. Now just two remain and with the new appointments, three justices are Chittenden County residents.

“Naming justices to the Vermont Supreme Court is one of the greatest responsibilities for any governor,” Gov. Scott said in his announcement.

“These appointments are important to maintain the trust of Vermonters in a fair and independent legal system. Christina and Michael both demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to public service, the rule of law, justice and will be great additions to the Court.”

Drescher graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in mathematics and earned his law degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. He is married to Christina Drescher. They have two daughters who currently live in the Boston area.

Drescher has done most of his work in courtrooms and let his legal work stand for itself. He appeared infrequently before the media, compared to Nolan, who had a political appointment.

As the U.S. Attorney for Vermont, Nolan put a high priority on prosecuting federal cases involving the illegal possession and purchase of firearms. She also handled drug trafficking, organized crime and child exploitation cases.

Her office also was involved in embezzlement and fraud cases, including the largest charged case in Vermont history relating to the EB-5/Jay Peak financial scandal in the Northeast Kingdom.

Nolan often found herself at odds with Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, often filing federal charges when no state charges were being pursued. George dropped three homicide cases in one day and Nolan and then-Attorney General T.J. Donovan picked them up. All were convicted.

Nolan also was opposed to a proposal in Burlington to create a safe injection site for heavy drug users, noting it was dangerous and counterproductive to really trying to help addicts in need.

“I grew up on a dirt road in Westford, the oldest of four children, with parents who nourished the early calling I felt to public service,” Nolan said.

“This is an opportunity like no other to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of Vermonters and to uphold the rule of the law and the Constitution. I am humbled by the Governor’s confidence in me and by this new opportunity to serve the state I call home.”

Having previously served as a state and federal prosecutor, Nolan has tried more than a dozen cases to juries and appeared several times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Nolan and her longtime partner for about 20 years have a home in Burlington and in the Northeast Kingdom.

She was inducted into the Rice Memorial Athletic Hall of Fame for her exploits in track and field and basketball. After graduating summa cum laude with degrees in political science and history from the University of Vermont, she received her law degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School.

Nolan went on to work as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County in Massachusetts, and from 2005 to 2009 she worked at Goodwin Procter in Boston, concentrating on white-collar criminal defense. She later came back to Vermont.

In August 2022, Nolan was upset in a 3-way Republican primary by Gerald Malloy for the right to square off against U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt. in the General Election to replace Leahy, who was retiring.

Carroll spent 12 years on the trial bench and 8 years at the Supreme Court.

Cohen spent 16 years on the bench, including 6 years on the high court.