The Maine Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed the appointment of District Court Judge Rick E. Lawrence to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, making him the state’s first Black high court justice.

Four senators spoke in support of Lawrence before the vote, including Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cape Elizabeth) who recounted his degrees from Yale University and Harvard Law School and his 22 years as a district court judge in Maine.

“He’s provided excellent leadership in the judicial branch, especially with regard to family law matters,” she said. “Judge Lawrence will serve Maine with excellence on our Supreme Judicial Court as he has on the District Court.”

In a rare Senate appearance, Gov. Janet Mills sat next to Lawrence in the back of the chamber as the Senate discussed and then approved his nomination.

Sen. Trey Stewart (R-Presque Isle) recounted taking a class from Lawrence while in law school.

“I look forward to seeing the incredible things he’s going to do in his continued service to the people of Maine on Maine’s highest court,” Stewart said.

Lawrence, 66, of Portland, has served 22 years on the District Court, serving primarily in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties. He will replace Associate Justice Ellen Gorman, who announced her intent to retire in January 2021.

Lawrence told the Judiciary Committee last week he is the son of a chef and a waitress, neither of whom had the opportunity to finish high school. A Massachusetts native, he grew up in the same town as civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP.

Lawrence’s resume includes time at Pierce Atwood and working as in-house counsel for Unum before earning appointment in 2000 as the first African American to serve as a judge in Maine.