President Trump has nominated a Maine Superior Court judge to serve on the federal bench.

Justice Lance Walker of Falmouth has served on the Superior Court bench since 2015 after having been named a Maine District Court judge the year before. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Walker would be assigned to the U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Lance Walker

On Tuesday, both of Maine’s U.S. senators – Republican Susan Collins and independent Angus King – voiced their support for Walker’s nomination to the federal court.

“During his nearly two decades of experience as both an attorney in private practice and as a judge in Maine’s judicial system, Justice Walker has demonstrated that he has the intelligence, temperament, and integrity required for this important position,” Collins and King said in a joint statement. “Justice Walker has made numerous contributions to Maine’s legal community and would serve our state well as a federal judge. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to confirm Justice Walker.”

Gov. Paul LePage nominated Walker to the District Court in 2014, where he served primarily in Androscoggin and Oxford counties.

A year later, the governor nominated Walker to the Superior Court bench, and he was based in Portland. He presided over several high-profile cases during that time, including the case of an anti-abortion protester who was charged with yelling so loudly outside a Portland clinic that he could be heard inside, as well as charges against Black Lives Matter activists who had blocked traffic.