WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee advanced legislation authored by Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) designating the Clarksburg Federal Courthouse as the “Irene M. Keeley United States Courthouse.”

The EPW Committee unanimously voted to approve the bill, which now heads to the Senate for consideration.

“Today at the EPW Committee, we took an important step to designate the Clarksburg Federal Courthouse in honor of Judge Keeley’s career and her decades of service to West Virginia,” Ranking Member Capito said. “As the first female judge for the Northern District of West Virginia, and in her 30 years of service on the bench, Judge Keeley has earned a reputation as someone who conducts herself with integrity, consistently demonstrates a thorough understanding of the law, and treats each case before her with fairness and thoughtfulness. I am thankful we have widespread support for our effort to honor Judge Keeley, and I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues to get this legislation across the finish line.”

“I’m pleased our bipartisan bill to dedicate the Clarksburg Federal Courthouse in Judge Keeley’s honor has passed out of the EPW Committee,” Senator Manchin said. “As the former Chief Judge and first woman to serve on the bench for the Northern District of West Virginia, Judge Keeley has inspired generations of legal professionals through her dedication to fairness and justice. This tribute is beyond deserving and I will continue working with Senator Capito and our colleagues to ensure the bill’s swift passage on the full Senate floor.”

BACKGROUND:

Judge Irene M. Keeley earned her law degree from the West Virginia College of Law in 1980. Following more than a decade in private practice, Judge Keeley was nominated by President George H. W. Bush as Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in 1992.

On August 11, 1992, Judge Keeley was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. Judge Keeley served as the district’s court Chief Judge from March 2001 to March 2008. She took inactive senior status on September 30, 2022.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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