Hinesburg's Michael Drescher Named to Vermont Supreme Court
A federal prosecutor for 20 years, Drescher has served as the de facto U.S. Attorney for the past year. Drescher lives in Hinesburg.
Governor Phil Scott named Michael Drescher of Hinesburg and Christina Nolan of Burlington to the Vermont Supreme Court last week.
“These appointments are important to maintain the trust of Vermonters in a fair and independent legal system,” Gov. Phil Scott said in announcing the appointments. “Christina and Michael both demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to public service, the rule of law, justice and will be great additions to the Court.”
Drescher has worked as a federal prosecutor in Vermont for 23 years, serving as the top prosecutor since early 2025. In his role as Vermont’s top federal prosecutor, Drescher has taken the lead in enforcing many of the policies of the U.S. Justice Department under President Donald Trump, from immigration enforcement to filing federal charges that carry the death penalty for the first time in cases in the state in years.
Drescher was initially appointed as the Acting U.S. Attorney, but late last year, after he had served the maximum amount of time allowed by law in that acting role, his title was changed to First Assistant U.S. attorney, though he continued to oversee the office. It is unclear why Drescher was not nominated to the U.S. Senate for confirmation as U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont on a permanent basis.
“Having the opportunity to join the men and women of the Vermont judiciary is an extraordinary privilege, and I am deeply honored to have been selected by the Governor to serve on the Supreme Court,” said Drescher. “I have spent the last 30 years working with and appearing before Vermont judges in state and federal courts.”
“Drawing on that experience,” he added, “I pledge to help lead a court system in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect, justice is administered fairly and efficiently, and individual rights are protected.”
Vermont U.S. Attorney Peter Hall hired Drescher as an assistant U.S. Attorney in 2002. Following the resignation of U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest, Drescher has led the office, managing a team of approximately 50 attorneys, investigators and other legal professionals.
Drescher graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in mathematics and earned his law degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. Following law school, Michael Drescher was a law clerk to Judge Fred I. Parker, who was then Vermont’s judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After clerking for Judge Parker, Drescher went to work for the law firm now known as Sheehey Furlong & Behm PC in Burlington, becoming a partner in 2000. At the firm, he litigated in Vermont Superior Court, before the Public Service Board (now known as the Public Utility Commission), and in Federal Court.
Drescher is married to Christina Drescher and they have two daughters who currently live in the Boston area.
Drescher joins another Hinesburg resident, Nancy Jear Waples, who was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice in April 2022. No date has been set for Drescher’s swearing-in ceremony.
Nolan also appointed
Christina Nolan, a native Vermonter, has focused on complex civil litigation, government enforcement actions, false claims act, white collar, felony criminal defense, and internal investigations throughout her career. Having previously served as a state and federal prosecutor, Nolan has tried more than a dozen cases to juries and appeared several times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
“I grew up on a dirt road in Westford, the oldest of four children, with parents who nourished the early calling I felt to public service,” said Nolan. “This is an opportunity like no other to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of Vermonters and to uphold the rule of the law and the Constitution. I am humbled by the Governor’s confidence in me and by this new opportunity to serve the state I call home.”
Nolan was employed from 2010 to 2021 at the United States Attorney’s Office in Vermont (USAO), serving first as an assistant United States attorney in the Criminal Division for nearly eight years, and then as United States attorney.
Great appointment. The transition from federal prosecutorto the Supreme Court is interesting because managing a 50-person legal team requires consensus-building skills that are kinda underrated in judicial roles. I worked with a former prosecutor who became a judge and that administrative experince made him way better at managing complex cases with multiple parties.