By Forum Staff

Gov. Phil Scott has named Judge William Cohen, a Vermont Law School graduate and 20-year veteran of the Vermont judiciary, to be the next associate justice on the Vermont Supreme Court.

Cohen, who currently serves on the state Superior Court in Rutland, will replace Justice Marilyn Skoglund, who retired in September.

“We entrust members of our state’s highest court with upholding our Constitution and laws, being fair minded, committed and just,” Scott said in a statement Thursday. “Bill understands the needs of Vermonters as well as the challenges facing the judiciary and the justice system.”

Cohen graduated from VLS in 1984 after receiving his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University. The Rutland native and former Killington chair lift operator will join Justices Harold E. Eaton, Jr. and Karen R. Carroll, who graduated cum laude from VLS in 1980 and 1988, respectively. With Cohen’s appointment, Swans will have a majority on the state’s highest court.

“It has been my privilege to be a Vermont trial judge for the past 20 years and I will continue to work towards providing equal justice to all Vermonters as a member of the Vermont Supreme Court,” Cohen said in the statement.

Cohen will be sworn in later this month.