A Vermont Superior Court judge who was the subject of testimony accusing him of sexism, implicit bias and poor temperament has been retained by the Vermont Legislature to serve six more years on the bench.

Judge Samuel Hoar, who was appointed five years ago by Gov. Peter Shumlin, was one of nine Vermont judges being considered by the full Legislature on Wednesday for retention. Of the 165 votes cast in his case, he was retained 129 to 36 — the largest percentage of no votes received by any judge considered by the joint assembly.

Two female lawyers had testified last month before the Joint Committee on Judicial Retention about behavior by Hoar they observed and experienced that they described as sexist, aggressive and tone deaf. They said Hoar sometimes treated male and female lawyers and employees differently and that he could become aggressive toward people who did not agree with him or who he did not like. Other lawyers have since come forward to dispute these characterizations of Hoar's behavior and temperament.

Previous coverage:Two female lawyers call out sexism by Vermont judge, 'blind spots' within Judiciary

Hoar had been approved by the committee earlier this month to move forward in the retention process after apologizing and drafting a remediation plan. Sen. Alice Nitka, D-Windsor, the chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Judicial Retention, presented the committee's findings on Hoar to the joint assembly.

"Judge Hoar has stepped up to address the issues raised about his demeanor and is following through, having met with the most concerned individuals and providing a detailed plan for going forth," Nitka said. She added, "Judge Hoar has skills and value to the judiciary and to the people of Vermont who appear before him. Retention is serving its purpose – holding judges accountable for their performance.”

Hoar's remediation plan includes mentoring by retired judges, implicit bias training, reporting to Chief Administrative Judge Brian Grearson, and listening to other judge's cases when he has time, Nitka said.

Several members of the Legislature spoke out about the importance of training and of rooting out implicit bias from the judicial system. Rep. Jean O'Sullivan, a Democrat from Chittenden County, expressed concern that people would still be appearing before Hoar while he was carrying out his remediation plan.

More:Female lawyers who spoke about Vermont judge's behavior encouraged by response, apology

"I do not want one Vermonter harmed by implicit bias that we have identified and been asked to remediate," O'Sullivan said. "I would urge the body not to support this candidate.”

All of the other judges considered were also retained Wednesday. This included Vermont Superior Court judges William Cohen, Robert Gerety Jr., Kevin Griffin, Elizabeth Mann, Megan Shafritz, Timothy Tomasi, Thomas Zonay, and Magistrate Judge Alicia Humbert.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.