Beth Robinson

Beth Robinson (born March 6, 1965) is an American lawyer and judge from Vermont. She is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and is the first openly lesbian judge to serve on any federal court of appeals. Robinson served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 2011 to 2021.

Robinson was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and she was raised and educated in Indiana. She graduated from Dartmouth College (Bachelor of Arts, 1986) and the University of Chicago Law School (Juris Doctor, 1989). After serving as a law clerk for a federal judge, Robinson joined Vermont's Langrock, Sperry & Wool law firm, where she was active on cases related to workers' compensation, personal injury, and constitutional law. Robinson became active in the movement for expanded rights for gays and lesbians, and served as co-counsel in the case of Baker v. State, the 1999 decision that led to Vermont passing the first civil unions law. As chair of the Vermont Freedom to Marry organization, Robinson was a high-profile supporter of same-sex marriage, and worked with leaders of the Vermont General Assembly on passage of the 2009 Marriage Equality Act.

After working on Peter Shumlin's successful campaign for governor in 2010, Robinson joined his staff as legal counsel, a position which included drafting and analyzing proposed legislation and regulations, making recommendations on whether to approve requests for pardons, and ensuring compliance with ethics rules. In 2011, Shumlin appointed Robinson as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. She served until 2021, when she resigned after having been confirmed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.