Filling a position vacant in one of the state’s busiest courts for more than two years, James H. Leary was sworn in as presiding justice of the Nashua District Court on July 26.

Leary, a special justice in the Nashua court since 2002, is the first judge to be appointed by Gov. John Lynch, who had reinstated a Judicial Selection Commission to propose names for his consideration.

(Now pending before the Executive Council is the nomination of Mark Weaver as justice for the Hampton-Exeter District Court. Lynch has also nominated Edward M. “Ned” Gordon to the Franklin District Court and the selection committee is interviewing candidates for the Keene District Court. Keene and Franklin are full-time judicial positions.)

Leary, who had been associated with the Sullivan & Gregg law firm in Nashua, had been active in the NHBA Pro Bono program and was the 2001 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year for Hillsborough County. He also had been a regular faculty member for DOVE volunteer training programs. He obtained his law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in 1984. While in law school, he was director of the NH Mediation Program.

“I am very excited about the new position,” said Leary.  “I am being allowed some transition time from my practice, but hope soon to be able to focus entirely on the court and its needs.”

Leary is one of two full-time justices assigned to Nashua; Associate Justice Thomas Bamberger was appointed as a full-time judge for Nashua in 1999.