Bangor attorney’s nomination to federal judgeship clears Senate

A Bangor attorney watched C-SPAN on Thursday night as the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination to a federal judgeship.

John A. Woodcock Jr., 52, called the experience “amazing.”

Woodcock’s nomination was approved by a unanimous voice vote Thursday night, one week after the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously recommended him for confirmation. He testified before the committee last month.

The Bangor native was nominated in early January by President George W. Bush to fill the vacancy created in 2001 when U.S. District Court Judge Gene Carter reduced his workload by taking senior judicial status. George Z. Singal was appointed to take Carter’s place on the bench in Portland, leaving open the sole federal judgeship that covers northern and eastern Maine.

It will be a few more weeks before he can put on a black robe and begin hearing cases, Woodcock said in a phone interview from his Hampden home shortly after his confirmation. The president must officially sign off on the Senate’s action, and he must be sworn in.

Woodcock said Thursday that he has spent time over the past few months getting ready for the job.”Recently, I’ve been shadowing Judge Singal,” said Woodcock. “He let me sit in on conferences among counsel in preparation for trials, watch jury selection from a judicial perspective and observe sentencings. I’ve been able to see the courtroom from the perspective of the judge and it’s been very helpful.

“Also, over past few months, Judge Carter, Judge [Brock] Hornby and Judge Singal have sacrificed a great deal to keep the docket up-to-date so that I will not face an overwhelming caseload.

“Woodcock said he also has been gradually closing his 26-year-old legal practice. Last week, he argued his last case before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The building at 136 Broadway where his office has been for many years now sports a for-sale sign.

His nomination has affected more lives than his own. One of his partners, his brother Timothy Woodcock, has taken a job with a Bangor firm. The remaining two, Peter Weatherbee and John Burlock, plan to carry on the practice.