WASHINGTON -- Virginia Supreme Court Justice G. Steven Agee won unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday on his way to becoming a federal appeals judge.

Agee, 55, now awaits approval from the Senate before joining the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sens. John W. Warner, R-Va., and Jim Webb, D-Va., recommended Agee to President Bush last year.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said in a statement that Agee's nomination "is the result of a breakthrough with the White House that affords us the opportunity to be productive, even in an election year."

Republicans have criticized Democrats for not moving faster on judicial nominees. Agee is the 49th nominee reported out of the committee this Congress, according to spokeswoman Erica Chabot.

Agee represented Salem in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1982 to 1993. In March 2000, the General Assembly elected him to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Three years later, the assembly elevated him to the state Supreme Court.

-- Neil Simon, Media General News Service