As a few of you know, I am married to Judge Susan Burke.  We serve on the same bench.  The Burlington Free Press recently reported:

Gov. Peter Shumlin is set to make Vermont history by appointing the first husband and wife team to the judiciary.

Vermont Legal Aid lawyer Kirstin Schoonover was named to the Vermont Superior Curt on Wednesday, while the formal announcement about her husband, Brian K. Valentine, as a magistrate judge in the Family Division of Superior Court is due later this week.

Schoonover of Huntington fills the seat left open by the elevation of Judge Harold “Duke” Eaton Jr. of Woodstock to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Valentine will fill the seat left open by the retirement of Magistrate Judge Shelley Gartner. She presided in Chittenden and Orange counties.

Shumlin said his decision is about the quality of the appointments and not making history.

And so…in honor of the newly appointed couple, I am pleased to announce the formation of the National Association Of Married Judges.