The office of U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson says the Senate late Tuesday afternoon approved the nomination of Rapid City lawyer Jeffrey Viken to be a federal judge.

President Barack Obama nominated Viken to the bench last month.

Viken replaces Lawrence Piersol, who has been a federal judge for the South Dakota district since 1993 and recently moved to senior status, leaving his full-time post in Sioux Falls.

U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier is expected to change locations from her current docket in Rapid City to Sioux Falls, and Viken was nominated to fill the Rapid City post.

Johnson, who recommended Viken, said on the Senate floor Tuesday that he has known Viken for a long time and finds him to be of good moral character and standing in the community.

Viken has been a federal public defender in Rapid City since 2003. Before working in private practice from 1981 to 2003, he was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1977 to 1981.