U.S. Senate confirms CT judge’s appointment to the federal court. Many GOP senators vote ‘no.’

The U.S. Senate confirmed Superior Court Judge Vernon D. Oliver’s nomination to the federal bench by a 53-44 vote in Washington Tuesday.

Oliver was nominated to the federal bench in Connecticut by President Joseph P. Biden to replace U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill, who is taking senior, or semi-retired status.

“It was not surprising that the Senate confirmed Judge Oliver, because he was a very experienced, mainstream nominee, who enjoyed a smooth hearing and Judiciary Committee approval,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor who tracks federal judicial nominations at the University of Richmond.

“However, it is difficult to understand why so many GOP senators voted no for such a highly qualified nominee,” Tobias said. “Many Republican senators just seem to be engaging in lockstep voting against Biden’s well qualified judicial nominees, regardless of how qualified the nominees are.”

Oliver has been a state judge for 15 years and encountered no opposition when questioned by the Senate judiciary committee in June.

He was appointed to the Superior Court by former Republican Jodi Rell and has presided as a judge over 300 bench trials and 20 jury trials. He also was chairman of the state Judicial Branch committee on judicial ethics.

Before his appointment to the Superior Court, Oliver worked first as a state prosecutor and later as an assistant state attorney general under former Democratic Attorney General and now U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who recommended Oliver’s appointment to the federal bench.

As an assistant Attorney General, Oliver led the office’s division of child abuse and neglect.

He grew up in Bridgeport, where he attended public schools. He graduated from the University of Connecticut and its law school.