The U.S. Senate has confirmed the appointment of a Kansas Supreme Court justice to the federal appeals court that handles cases from six western and Plains states.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran’s office says the chamber voted 90-3 Monday to confirm Nancy Moritz to the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Barack Obama nominated Moritz in August 2013.

The 54-year-old Moritz will fill the vacancy created in 2011 when Judge Deanell Tacha retired and became dean of the law school at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Tacha is from Kansas.

Moritz is a former federal prosecutor. She was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 2004 and the state Supreme Court in 2010.

Moran said Moritz is well-prepared for the federal court.