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

Biography

Crawford was born in 1954 in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in 1977 from Yale University. He received 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 ...

, cum laude, in 1980 from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He began his legal career as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

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. He served as a judge of 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 ...

from 2002 to 2013. In 2013 he succeeded

Brian L. Burgess Brian Louis Burgess (born January 14, 1951) is a retired Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. He served on the court from 2005 2013. Biography Brian Louis Burgess was born in Washington, DC. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree f ...

as an associate justice of the

, and he served until 2014.

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 assumed senior status on June 15, 2014. Crawford was recommended to President Obama, on March 24, 2014, by Senator

Patrick J. Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

after being evaluated by a nonpartisan Judicial Selection Commission established by Senator Leahy and Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. A hearing on his nomination before the

United States 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 ...

was held on June 4, 2014. On June 12, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote. 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. On June 24, 2014, his nomination was confirmed by a 95–0 vote. 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 Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, Vermont. Harold Eaton Jr. succeed him on the Vermont Supreme Court. He became chief judge on December 21, 2017."Notice of New Chief Judge", District of Vermont, December 21, 2017
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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Geoffrey W. 1954 births Living people 21st-century American judges Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Burlington, Vermont Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama Vermont lawyers Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Yale University alumni