RICHMOND -- Gov. Tim Kaine on Friday appointed Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy Millette to the Supreme Court of Virginia, filling a post that had been held by Salem's Steven Agee.

Kaine also filled vacancies on the Court of Appeals, the State Corporation Commission and on Circuit Courts in Fairfax County and Fredericksburg. The governor had the task of making the appointments because the politically divided General Assembly could not reach agreements on the positions during its winter legislative session or a brief special session earlier this summer.

Lawmakers still must approve Kaine's appointments when they return to Richmond in January. House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said legislators will have to scrutinize Kaine's picks before deciding whether to support them. Griffith said Republicans in the House were aware of the candidates Kaine considered for the vacancies, but had little input on the governor's decision.

"While I certainly received calls, it is my opinion that the governor has made his selection without meaningful input from the Republican caucus in the House of Delegates," Griffith said.

Aides to Kaine said legislative leaders were given an opportunity to raise concerns about candidates for the judicial vacancies. They said Kaine expects his appointments to be approved. The governor's picks for the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals received legislative approval for the jobs they are leaving.

"He doesn't intend for these to be interim appointments," Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said.

In a statement announcing Millette's appointment, Kaine called the judge "a first-rate jurist who has devoted his life to the law."

Millette, 59, was appointed to the Court of Appeals in November and had previously served as a Circuit Court judge in Prince William County. He is perhaps best known for presiding over the trial of serial sniper John Allen Muhammad, who received the death penalty for a 2002 murder committed at a gas station near Manassas.

Millette served as chief judge of the 31st Judicial Circuit from 1998 to 2000 and from 2006 to 2007. He also has served as a General District judge and an assistant commonwealth's attorney.

Millette was selected from a field of potential candidates for the seven-member court that included Roanoke Circuit Court Judge Clifford Weckstein. Weckstein was one of 10 candidates rated "highly qualified" by the Virginia State Bar.

Kaine named Cleo Powell, a Circuit Court judge for Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights, to the Court of Appeals. Powell has been a Circuit Court judge since 2000 and previously served as a General District Court judge. She also has experience as an executive and corporate counsel at Virginia Power and served as senior assistant attorney general from 1986 to 1989.

Kaine appointed Richmond lawyer James Dimitri to the SCC, a three-member panel that has wide-ranging regulatory authority over businesses, utilities and financial institutions. The vacancy was created by the retirement in December of Theodore Morrison. Lawmakers screened several candidates for the position during the winter, but Dimitri is a former SCC staff lawyer and has experience representing consumers, manufacturers and utilities before the panel.

Environmental organizations sent letters to Kaine supporting Dimitri, citing his wide range of experience.