Appointments/Elections

Batts Weds, Robinson Nominated

Congratulations to United States District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts and Vermont State Supreme Court nominee Beth Robinson.

“Judge Deborah A. Batts and Dr. Gwen Lois Zornberg were married Saturday evening at the St. Gregory hotel in Washington. Emily C. Hewitt, the chief judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, officiated.”
— New York Times, 11/13/11

“Gov. Peter Shumlin on Tuesday nominated to the state Supreme Court a Vermont lawyer who championed marriage rights for gays and lesbians and is now his general counsel. Beth Robinson, 46, was on the legal team that represented three same-sex couples at the center of the landmark state Supreme Court decision in 1999 that found such couples were being denied the rights and benefits of marriage in violation of the Vermont Constitution. The court said the Legislature should produce a remedy, and in 2000, Vermont became the first state to allow gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions.

“As head of Vermont Freedom to Marry, Robinson, a lesbian, was a key backer of a 2009 law that made Vermont the first state to offer full marriage to same-sex couples without a court order telling lawmakers to do so.”
— Burlington Free Press, 10/18/11