The judge who presided over the trial of sniper mastermind John Muhammad is now a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court.

LeRoy F. Millette, Jr. was sworn in as a member of the court in a ceremony on Friday. The former Virginia Court of Appeals judge was appointed to the post in August by Gov. Tim Kaine.

The General Assembly will vote on the appointment during the 2009 session in January.

Millette succeeds Justice G. Steven Agee, who was appointed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year.

Millette's record includes less than a year of service on the state appeals court. Before that, he served nearly 15 years as a circuit judge in Prince William County, where Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 sniper shootings.