Nancy Jear Waples (born October 7, 1960) is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

since 2022.

Early life and education

Waples is the daughter of Chinese immigrants So Kam "Susie" Jear and Yee Roy Jear; she was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and became a U.S. citizen in 1977. She graduated with a

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 ...

from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

in 1982, and she earned a

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

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

in 1987.

Legal career

Waples started her legal career serving as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, working in the appeals bureau and trial division under well-known District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. She later served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

in the U.S. Attorney's office in the

District of Vermont The United States District Court for the District of Vermont (in case citations, D. Vt.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the federal district of Vermont. The court has locations in Brattleboro, Burlington, and Rutland. The ...

, where she served in the criminal division. Prior to her appointment as a judge she worked as a lawyer with the law firm Hoff Curtis where she focused on criminal defense.

Vermont judicial service

Superior court

On December 29, 2014, Governor

Peter Shumlin Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to a ...

appointed Waples to the

Vermont Superior Court The Judiciary of Vermont is the state court system of Vermont, charged with Vermont law. Vermont Constitution The Vermont courts are established in the Vermont Constitution in sections 28-41 (Judiciary Department). The justices of the Vermont S ...

to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of judge Geoffrey W. Crawford who was appointed to the

Supreme Court

On February 25, 2022, Governor Phil Scott announced the appointment of Waples as an associate justice of the

, filling the seat vacated by the resignation of Justice

Beth Robinson Beth Robinson (born March 6, 1965) is an American lawyer and judge from Vermont. She is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and is the first openly lesbian judge to serve on any Circuit Court ...

on November 5, 2021, after Robinson was appointed to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

. Waples is the first woman of color to serve on the Vermont Supreme Court. The

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

confirmed Waples' appointment on March 25, 2022. She was sworn into office on April 15, 2022.

Family

Waples is married to attorney Gregory L. Waples. They are the parents of two sons, one of which practices as an attorney in New York City, while the other serves as a law clerk to the Court of International Trade.

References

External links

* Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American jurists of Chinese descent American lawyers of Chinese descent American prosecutors Assistant United States Attorneys Canadian emigrants to the United States College of William & Mary alumni Criminal defense lawyers Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Naturalized citizens of the United States St. John's University School of Law alumni Superior court judges in the United States Vermont lawyers Vermont state court judges 21st-century American women judges 1960 births {{Vermont-stub