Barbara Milano Keenan

Barbara Milano Keenan is a senior United States circuit judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Appointed to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2010, she has served at every level of Virginia’s state court system—district, circuit, appellate, and supreme courts—before assuming senior status in August 2021 while continuing to hear cases on the Fourth Circuit.

Early life and legal career

Barbara Louise Milano was born in 1950 in Vienna, Austria, where her father was serving as chief of intelligence operations following World War II. She spent her childhood in Northern Virginia after her family returned to the United States. Keenan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1971 and completed her Juris Doctor at George Washington University Law School three years later. Furthering her legal education, she obtained a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992.

Keenan began her professional career as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, Virginia, serving from 1974 until 1976. After leaving the prosecutor’s office, she entered private practice, first operating as a solo practitioner and later becoming a partner in the firm Keenan, Ardis and Roehrenbeck. Her early judicial service commenced with an appointment to the General District Court of Fairfax County in 1980. Two years later, the Virginia General Assembly elected her to the Circuit Court, making her the first woman to hold that position in the state.

In 1985, Keenan was selected as one of the inaugural judges of the newly created Court of Appeals of Virginia, thereby becoming the first woman to serve on a Virginia appellate court. Her judicial trajectory continued upward when she was elected to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1991, succeeding Justice Charles S. Russell. She was reelected to a second twelve‑year term in 2003, completing a career that placed her at every tier of Virginia’s judiciary—a distinction shared only with a small number of other jurists.

Federal appellate service

In 2009 Keenan expressed interest in a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Virginia Bar Association included her name among candidates presented to the state’s two senators on February 24, 2009. On June 2, 2009, both senators formally recommended her to President Barack Obama for nomination. The president submitted Keenan’s nomination to the Senate on September 14, 2009, and the Senate Judiciary Committee subsequently reported it favorably.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a cloture motion on February 26, 2010. The Senate invoked cloture on March 2, 2010 by a unanimous vote of 99–0, and later that day confirmed Keenan to the Fourth Circuit with an identical 99–0 tally. She received her commission on March 9, 2010 and began serving as an active circuit judge. After more than a decade on the bench, she assumed senior status on August 31, 2021, a position that permits continued participation in panel decisions while creating a vacancy for a new full‑time judge.

Keenan’s appointment added to a recent pattern of Virginia Supreme Court justices moving to the federal appellate level; Judge G. Steven Agee similarly transitioned from the state supreme court to the Fourth Circuit. Her service reflects both her extensive experience within Virginia’s courts and the broader practice of appointing seasoned state judges to the federal judiciary.

Jurisprudence and legacy

During her tenure on the Fourth Circuit, Judge Keenan has authored opinions that address a range of constitutional and statutory issues. In *Seay v. Cannon* (June 21, 2019), she joined Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. in holding that the Double Jeopardy Clause bars a retrial after a mistrial is declared over the defendant’s objection. The decision was accompanied by a dissent from Judge Paul V. Niemeyer. The United States Supreme Court later denied certiorari on March 30, 2020; three justices—Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh—indicated they would have granted review.

Another notable opinion involved a Title IX challenge to a charter school’s dress‑code policy that required female students to wear skirts or dresses. On August 9, 2021, Judge Keenan dissented in part from the majority’s conclusion that the policy did not violate Title IX while allowing the lawsuit to proceed. In her dissent she emphasized contemporary understandings of gender equality, referencing women’s participation in combat units, space exploration, and high‑level public office, and critiqued policies that reinforce outdated sex stereotypes.

Beyond specific cases, Keenan’s broader legacy includes several historic firsts for women within Virginia’s judiciary. She was the first woman to serve on a General District Court, a Circuit Court, the state Court of Appeals, and ultimately the Supreme Court of Virginia. Her career demonstrates a progression through each judicial tier, illustrating both personal achievement and the gradual diversification of the bench.

Keenan’s continued service as a senior judge allows her to contribute experience and institutional knowledge to Fourth Circuit panels while mentoring newer judges. Her professional path—from early prosecutorial work and private practice through state trial and appellate courts to the federal appellate system—offers an example of judicial advancement grounded in extensive legal practice and public service.