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Barbara Louise Milano Keenan (born March 1, 1950) is a
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...
of
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...
and a former justice on the
Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
.


Early life and education

Keenan was born in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, where her father, a highly decorated
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veteran, was serving as chief of intelligence operations after the war.Tom Jackman
Va. Judge Nominated For Appeals Court
''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' (September 15, 2009).
She was raised in Northern Virginia. Keenan received her
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1971 and her
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...
in 1974.President Obama Nominates Justice Barbara Milano Keenan for United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
''whitehouse.gov'' (September 14, 2009).
She also earned a
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
degree from the
University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...
in 1992.


Professional career

From 1974 to 1976, Keenan was an assistant commonwealth's attorney for
Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, before entering private practice, first as a solo practitioner and then as partner in the
firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
Keenan, Ardis and Roehrenbeck. In 1980, she was made a judge of the General District Court of Fairfax County, and two years later became the first woman to be elected to a Circuit Court judgeship by the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...
. In 1985, she was elected as one of the first ten judges of the newly created
Court of Appeals of Virginia The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an intermediate appellate court of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in pan ...
, making her the first woman to serve as a state appellate court judge in Virginia. She is the first woman to serve on all levels of the Virginia court system. In 2011, she wrote the foreword to the first volume of ''Jurist Prudent'', the collected opinions of her former
Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
colleague Sr. Justice Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr.


Service on the Supreme Court of Virginia

In 1991 Keenan was elected to be a justice of the
Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
, succeeding Justice
Charles S. Russell Charles Stevens Russell (born February 23, 1926) is an American lawyer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. He retired as an active member of the Court in 1991. Biography Russell was born in Ric ...
. She was reelected in 2003 to a second 12-year term on the Court. She is the only Virginia jurist to serve at every level of Virginia's judicial system (District, Circuit, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court). Sr. Justices Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr. and Leroy F. Millette, Jr. and Justice
Cleo Powell Cleo Elaine Powell (born January 12, 1957) is a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. She was sworn in on October 21, 2011 for a term ending on July 31, 2023. Justice Powell is the first African-American female to serve on Virginia's highest ...
have also served at every level of the state's court system. She joins Judge
G. Steven Agee George Steven Agee (born November 12, 1952) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Background Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Agee was e ...
of that court as the second Virginia Supreme Court Justice (and former Virginia Court of Appeals judge) to advance to the federal appellate bench in recent times.


Federal judicial service

In 2009, Keenan asked to be considered for a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...
. The
Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provid ...
included her name on the list of candidates it submitted to Virginia's two senators on February 24, 2009. On June 2, 2009, Virginia's senators recommended that President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
nominate her to the Fourth Circuit.Alan Cooper
Senators recommend Justice Keenan
, ''The VLW Blog'' (June 2, 2009).
On September 14, 2009, Obama formally nominated Keenan to the Fourth Circuit, and the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
backed her nomination. On February 26, 2010, Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
filed for
cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...
on Keenan's nomination. The Senate voted 99–0 to invoke cloture on her nomination on March 2, 2010. She was confirmed later that day by a 99–0 vote. She received her commission on March 9, 2010. She assumed
senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on August 31, 2021.


Notable cases

In Seay v. Cannon, on June 21, 2019, Keenan, who was joined by
A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. Arthur Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. (born August 2, 1964) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was formerly a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Distr ...
, ruled that double jeopardy bars retrial after a mistrial is granted over a defendant's objection.
Paul V. Niemeyer Paul Victor Niemeyer (born April 5, 1941) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. E ...
dissented. On March 30, 2020, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, although Justices Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh would have granted cert to the case. Keenan strongly dissented in part in an August 9, 2021 decision which ruled that a charter school's policy to force female students to wear dresses or skirts did not violate Title IX, despite allowing the Title IX lawsuit to continue. Keenan explained "No, this is not 1821 or 1921. It’s 2021. Women serve in combat units of our armed forces. Women walk in space and contribute their talents at the International Space Station. Women serve on our country’s Supreme Court, in Congress, and, today, a woman is Vice President of the United States. Yet, girls in certain public schools in North Carolina are required to wear skirts to comply with the outmoded and illogical viewpoint that courteous behavior on the part of both sexes cannot be achieved unless girls wear clothing that reinforces sex stereotypes and signals that girls are not as capable and resilient as boys."


See also

*
Barack Obama judicial appointment controversies U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congress ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Barbara Milano 1950 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Cornell University alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers