TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — 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 Sen. 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 (TAH’-hah) 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.