[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3938-S3939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NOMINATION OF NANCY L. MALDONADO

  Mr. McCONNELL. On a different matter, I have spoken repeatedly about 
how Adeel Mangi, President Biden's nominee to the Third Circuit, is 
unqualified for the bench. But the red flags on this administration's 
nominees aren't limited to radical associations and ethical lapses.
  Judge Nancy Maldonado, a trial judge nominated to the Seventh 
Circuit, has distinguished herself with sheer--sheer--incompetence.
  Thanks to reforms put in place by then-Judiciary Committee Chairman 
Biden, Federal courts keep track of how many fully briefed motions have 
been sitting without a decision for at least 6 months, a report often 
known among judges in Chicago as the Biden list.
  It was a good reform because justice delayed is justice denied. And 
as it turns out, Judge Maldonado has by far the largest number of 
motions pending for more than 6 months among the judges of the Seventh 
Circuit, with 125. She would need to rule on one of these motions every 
workday for the next 6 months just to clear her existing Biden backlog.
  There are only a handful of judges in the country who are this far 
behind on their work. Judge Maldonado's Biden backlog puts her beyond 
the 99th percentile of all district judges nationwide in terms of 
slowness.

[[Page S3939]]

  The Biden list requires judges to explain why they are so far behind. 
Judge Maldonado blames her record on ``complexity of the case,'' 
``voluminous transcripts/briefs to be read,'' and ``heavy civil and 
criminal caseload.'' Does the President think his nominees will face 
less complex cases on the court of appeals, lighter caseloads, less 
voluminous transcripts or briefs?
  Why on Earth would our colleagues consider giving new and greater 
responsibilities to a judge who is clearly struggling with the ones she 
has already gotten or, for that matter, why would they consider 
promoting someone whose instinct is to pass the buck?
  I wish I were making this up: When our colleagues asked Judge 
Maldonado about her case backlog in written questions, she blamed her 
clerks. That is probably cold comfort to prisoners seeking relief for 
inhumane treatment or litigants paying months of legal fees awaiting 
her decisions. Apparently, it is not the woman with a judicial 
commission who is responsible for justice delayed; it is the 25-year-
old brandnew lawyers on her staff. But passing the buck is what Judge 
Maldonado does.
  The junior Senator for Louisiana asked her how she defined ``assault 
weapon'' in a brief supporting Illinois' assault weapons ban, and the 
judge said she didn't know because she didn't write the brief. She was 
only--get this--the counsel of record.
  Do our colleagues really expect a promotion to the court of appeals 
to turn things around? Do they really think one of the Nation's least 
productive jurists actually deserves such a promotion?
  It doesn't have to be like this. Without even leaving Chicago, 
Washington Democrats will find a different trial judge, Judge Mary 
Rowland.
  Judge Rowland has impeccable liberal credentials. She satisfies the 
left's desired diversity metrics. The only difference? She is actually 
good at her job.
  Her Biden list is three cases. And her reason? These opinions are 
being drafted but need to have hearings. Complex cases and voluminous 
briefing don't faze Judge Rowland.
  This matters. The Seventh Circuit is a busy court. They hear oral 
arguments for every case that has a lawyer and publish all of these 
opinions as precedent. It is also the last stop for almost all 
litigants in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.
  Confirming Judge Maldonado to that court would be taking a judge who 
has proven herself incapable of swimming in the shallow end of the pool 
and throwing her into Lake Michigan.
  The people and litigants of the Seventh Circuit deserve better. And 
if my colleagues want to see basic competence in their judges, they 
ought to reject this nominee.

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