Sen. John Kennedy stumps another Biden judicial nominee on ‘Brady motion’ question
Kaelan Deese
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Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) backed another one of President Joe Biden‘s judicial picks into a legal corner after the nominee admitted to not knowing a criminal law doctrine known as a Brady motion.
Colorado Magistrate Judge Kato Crews was before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, where lawmakers from both sides ask questions to inquire about the qualifications of the president’s nominees.
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“Tell me how you analyze a Brady motion,” Kennedy asked the judge. The doctrine is derived from the Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland and relates to a defendant’s request for the prosecution to hand over any potentially exculpatory evidence in a criminal case.
“How I analyze a Brady motion … senator, in my four and half years on the bench, I don’t believe I’ve had the occasion to address a Brady motion in my career,” Crews said, adding he believed it “involved something regarding the Second Amendment.”
Crews’s Senate Judiciary Questionnaire does note that since he began serving as a magistrate judge in 2018, he has presided over six cases that have gone to verdict or judgment and none of which were criminal.
When he worked as a founding partner at a small firm, Crews focused primarily on civil lawsuits and employment law.
During interviews with judicial nominees, Kennedy is known for asking pointed and tough questions of Biden’s selections.
The Louisiana senator succeeded in stumping another one of Biden’s picks in January, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren, after she failed to provide the purpose of Article 5 of the Constitution, which lays out the process of amending the Constitution.
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Bjelkengren attracted negative attention from Republican leadership, including Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has criticized Biden for failing to send the “best and brightest” judicial nominees. The committee has yet to vote on her nomination.
Two other nominees were interviewed along with Crews, including Amanda K. Brailsford to the U.S. District Court of Idaho and Molly R. Silfen to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.