Judge Lance ito has been appointed by a state appeals court to replace Judge Joee Brown, who is retiring.
Ito, a federal judge who previously served as the district court judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, replaces Brown, a former prosecutor, who retired from the bench in July.
Brown was nominated by President Donald Trump in March, shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
He served as a federal prosecutor in Virginia’s Eastern District for nine years.
In his new role, Brown will have a greater role overseeing the investigation of the mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that killed 26 people and wounded nearly 500.
The victims were worshipers at First Baptist Church in Sutherland, a rural area in southern Texas.
Brown has previously served on the court and is also a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.
In addition to his work with federal and state prosecutors, he is a frequent commentator on criminal justice issues and has been the lead prosecutor in several high-profile cases involving sexual assault.
Brown’s retirement announcement came shortly after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a resolution that would have the Senate vote to confirm him as a judge.
Brown said at the time he was proud to serve in the District of Columbia and to work with the judicial branch of the federal government.
He is also expected to be nominated by the Senate next week to serve as a justice on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
