Senators urge confirmation of Gina Groh as federal judge

Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin urged the U.S. Senate last week to move swiftly in confirming Judge Gina Marie Groh as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of West Virginia.

The bench has been vacant since the passing of Judge Craig Broadwater in 2006.

Circuit Judge Groh, who presides in Morgan and Berkeley counties, was nominated to the vacancy by President Obama earlier this year. Manchin and Rockefeller recommended Groh to the president.

“I’ve come to know her as a supremely talented attorney, a meticulous student of the law and a proven leader in her community. Her nomination is deeply personal to me,” Rockefeller said in remarks at Groh’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, September 7.

“Judge Groh is a well-respected and recognized member of her community in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia,” said Manchin, who first appointed Groh as judge in the 23rd Judicial Circuit in 2006.

If appointed, Groh will be the first resident of the Eastern Panhandle to sit as a U.S. District Court Judge in Martinsburg.

“Her extensive legal experience and dedication to public service demonstrate that she exemplifies not only the qualities of a talented jurist, but also the high moral character and sense of justice necessary to make a great judge,” Manchin said.