Updated at 4:28 p.m.
Gov. Phil Scott has appointed five new judges to fill vacancies on the Vermont Superior Court bench.
Two of the five have worked as public defenders, one served as the solicitor general in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, another worked most recently as a prosecutor, and one has been a lawyer in private practice.
“When appointing a judge, you’re literally putting justice, and people’s lives and livelihoods, into someone’s hands. It’s critical to identify appointees who are fair, impartial, and committed to the calling of public service and safety,” Scott said in a statement Friday morning announcing the appointments.
“I’m confident that these new judges will meet the responsibilities and high level of trust Vermonters put in them,” the governor added.
Scott has now appointed 19 Superior Court judges and three Vermont Supreme Court justices, according to Jason Maulucci, a spokesperson for Scott. The governor expects to receive names of potential applicants from the Judicial Nominating Board for one additional Superior Court vacancy by the end of the year, Maulucci said.
The five appointments announced Friday are Benjamin Battles of Waterbury, Susan McManus of Manchester Center, Rachel Malone of South Burlington, Alexander Burke of Arlington and Navah Spero of Richmond.
The Judicial Nominating Board submitted 16 candidates for the vacant positions, some of whom expressed interest in more than one of the vacancies, according to Eleanor Spottswood, the board’s chair.
Matt Valerio, Vermont’s defender general, called the appointment of two people with experience as public defenders “extraordinarily atypical.”
“The thing about both Susan (McManus) and Rachel (Malone) is they’ve actually represented people,” he said, contrasting that to prosecutors who represent the government’s interest. “I think that’s important to be able to develop an empathy for the people that are actually going to be in front of you.”
McManus has spent the last 13 years working as a public defender in southern Vermont, and is a past president of the Vermont Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Reached by phone, she said it’s been a “whirlwind” since she learned of her appointment.
“I’m deeply honored to serve the people of Vermont in a different capacity,” she said.
Malone, also a former public defender, most recently worked as a judicial master in northwestern Vermont. In that role, she helped develop and lead the Chittenden County Family Treatment Docket, offering “support and oversight to parents with substance use disorder,” according to the release. She did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Battles has spent nearly a decade in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, serving as chief of the General Counsel and Administrative Law Division. In that role, he oversaw more than 30 staff members. He has also served as the state’s solicitor general, where he supervised and handled appeal litigation.
In an email, he wrote that he is looking “forward to continuing my public service as a Superior Judge.”
Burke, a Bennington County prosecutor since 2010 who has worked in both criminal and family court, declined an interview on Friday afternoon.
Spero is currently a partner at Gravel & Shea PC, a Burlington-based law firm, and serves on the Vermont Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure. Previously, she worked as a law clerk for the Superior Court of Washington, D.C. She declined an interview Friday.
Alan J. Keays contributed to this report.
