Your Friday Funnies, courtesy of Senate Judicial Hearings

You'll know doubt hear, if you haven't already, about the confirmation hearing for federal judicial nominees today that included some stark revelations for one. 

Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, began his portion of the questioning by asking the group if any had ever tried a case to verdict. One nominee, Federal Election Commissioner Matthew Spencer Petersen, was the lone person to indicate that he hadn't. 

Sheldon White/Twitter

At this point, Sen. Kennedy directed essentially the remainder of his questioning at Petersen and his qualifications, or lack thereof, to be the next U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia. 

You can watch the 5-minute video clip here. And it id definitely worth the view. 

Let me be clear, I can't speak for Petersen's qualifications in his present job, and I'm sure he is a fine lawyer. He is, however, not a trial attorney (by his own admission). That is a problem because he is nominated to become a trial court judge in a very busy court. 

When asked if he knew about a motion in limine (which, for our non-lawyers, is a very common motion filed and heard at the start of trials), Petersen fumbled through with his response and admitted his "background is not in litigation." 

As a trial court judge here in Fort Lauderdale once said, "When people begin their response to a question without giving the answer, I know they don't know the answer."

After being asked again about the motion in limine, Petersen responded "I would probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table." 

Other essential trial qualifications that Petersen lacked: Never tried a civil or criminal case; never tried a bench trial; he hasn't taken more than a couple depositions on his own, if that; he hasn't reviewed the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Rules of Evidence since at least law school; and he is not aware of the Daubert standard. All of these are essential for a trial attorney and trial judge.

The exchange between Sen. Kennedy and Petersen is brutal. Thankfully Sen. Kennedy revealed these issues. No one, regardless of their political persuasion, would want a judge hearing and presiding over a trial in their case who lacked such fundamental qualifications.  

George C. Palaidis is a criminal defense and personal injury attorney practicing in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the South Florida region.