The U.S. Senate this afternoon confirmed Virginia Supreme Court Justice Steven Agee of Salem to fill a vacancy on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, approving the appointment by a vote of 96-0.

Agee was nominated by President Bush in March after being recommended as a candidate for the post by both of Virginia’s senators, Republican John Warner and Democrat Jim Webb. Warner and Webb made brief floor speeches in support of Agee before the Senate's vote.

The Senate’s confirmation of Agee eased a logjam that has left five vacancies on the Richmond-based appellate court. An earlier Bush nominee for the court withdrew from the process when it became clear the Senate would not hold hearings on his nomination.
 
Warner and Webb credited a process in which the two senators interviewed candidates for the bench and submitted recommendations to Bush.
 
“This is, I think, a very clear manifestation of how two senators from different parties come together and find that candidate that they judge to be eminently qualified,” Warner said.

Agee has served on the state Supreme Court since 2003 and on the Virginia Court of Appeals from 2001 to 2003. He served in the House of Delegates from 1982 to 1993.

Agee is one of two Roanoke Valley judges Bush has nominated for vacancies on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from federal courts in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina. U.S. District Court Judge Glen Conrad of Roanoke was nominated for a seat on the appellate bench earlier this month. Conrad also has the backing of Warner and Webb.

Agee's appointment creates a vacancy on the seven-member Virginia Supreme Court. Gov. Tim Kaine likely will make a recess appointment to fill that vacancy, but the General Assembly must approve the governor's selection.