MONTPELIER (AP) — Vermont federal Judge William K. Sessions III is taking senior status after 18 years on the bench. Sessions and his wife, Abi, reside in Cornwall.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says Sessions informed the president last week.
“I commend Judge Sessions for his years of service to our state and to this nation,” Leahy said in a press release. “His commitment to the rule of law has made him among the most respected federal judges in the country. The people of Vermont are fortunate that Judge Sessions will continue to serve as a senior judge even after a nominee is appointed to replace him. Marcelle and I are fortunate to call Bill and Abi our friends.”
Sessions was unanimously confirmed to the U.S. District Court in 1995 and served as its chief judge from 2002 to 2010.
He also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission and was appointed by President Obama in 2009 to be chairman, which he served for two years.
Prior to his judicial service, Sessions worked in private practice, as an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School, and in the Public Defender’s Office of Addison County.  He received his B.A. from Middlebury College in 1969, and his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1972.