Geoffrey W. Crawford Explained

Geoffrey W. Crawford
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
Term Start:August 9, 2024
Office1:Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
Term Start1:December 21, 2017
Term End1:July 20, 2024
Predecessor1:Christina Reiss
Successor1:Christina Reiss
Office2:Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
Term Start2:August 4, 2014
Term End2:August 9, 2024
Appointer2:Barack Obama
Predecessor2:William K. Sessions III
Successor2:vacant
Office3:Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
Term Start3:October 2013
Term End3:August 4, 2014
Appointer3:Peter Shumlin
Predecessor3:Brian L. Burgess
Successor3:Harold Eaton Jr.
Birth Name:Geoffrey William Crawford
Birth Date:20 July 1954
Party:Democratic
Education:Yale University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Geoffrey William Crawford (born July 20, 1954) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont and former associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.

Biography

Crawford was born in 1954 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[1] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in 1977 from Yale University. He received a Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1980 from Harvard Law School. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Albert Wheeler Coffrin of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont from 1980 to 1981. From 1981 to 1984, he was an associate at the law firm of Burlingham, Underwood & Lord in New York City and from 1984 to 1987, he was an associate at the law firm of Manchester & O'Neill in Vermont. From 1987 to 2002, he was a partner with Jerome O'Neill at the law firm of O'Neil, Crawford & Green.[2] He served as a judge of the Vermont Superior Court from 2002 to 2013. In 2013 he succeeded Brian L. Burgess as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and he served until 2014.[3] [4]

Federal judicial service

On May 20, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Crawford to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, to the seat being vacated by Judge William K. Sessions III, who subsequently assumed senior status on June 15, 2014. Crawford was recommended to President Obama, on March 24, 2014, by Senator Patrick J. Leahy after being evaluated by a nonpartisan Judicial Selection Commission established by Senator Leahy and Senator Bernie Sanders.[5] A hearing on his nomination before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee was held on June 4, 2014.[6] On June 12, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote.[7] On June 19, 2014 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination. On June 23, 2014, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–32 vote.[8] On June 24, 2014, his nomination was confirmed by a 95–0 vote.[9] He received his judicial commission on August 4, 2014. He took the oath of office during his judicial investiture ceremony on August 12, 2014, and he maintained chambers in the United States Courthouse in Rutland, Vermont.[10] Harold Eaton Jr. succeed him on the Vermont Supreme Court.[11] He served as chief judge from 2017 to 2024.[12] He assumed senior status on August 9, 2024.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Official Biography at Vermont Judiciary. 2014-05-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20140521032457/https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/Lists/JusticeBios/DispForm.aspx?ID=5. 2014-05-21. dead.
  2. News: Donoghue . Mike . March 24, 2014 . Crawford recommended for judgeship on Vermont's U.S. District Court . . Burlington, VT . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: Zind . Steve . September 20, 2013 . Judge Geoffrey Crawford Appointed To Vermont Supreme Court . Vermont Public Radio . Colchester, VT.
  4. Web site: President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Justice Geoffrey W. Crawford to Serve on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. whitehouse.gov. National Archives. 19 May 2014.
  5. Web site: Leahy Recommends Vermont Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Crawford For Vermont's Upcoming U.S. District Court Vacancy – U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont. www.leahy.senate.gov.
  6. Web site: June 4, 2014: Judicial Nominations. United States Senate.
  7. Web site: Executive Business Meeting. Committee on the Judiciary. United States Senate. 12 June 2014.
  8. Web site: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Geoffrey Crawford, of Vermont, to be U.S. District Judge). United States Senate. 24 June 2014.
  9. Web site: On the Nomination (Confirmation Geoffrey W. Crawford, of Vermont, to be U.S. District Judge). United States Senate. 24 June 2014.
  10. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2014/08/12/crawford-officially-sworn-federal-judge/13973843/ "Crawford Official Sworn in as Federal Judge" Burlington Free Press, August 13, 2014
  11. News: VTD Staff. October 13, 2014. Shumlin appoints Windsor judge to Supreme Court. VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
  12. http://www.vtd.uscourts.gov/sites/vtd/files/Notice.NewChiefJudge.Crawford.pdf "Notice of New Chief Judge", District of Vermont, December 21, 2017