by Chris Enloe
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) stumped yet another Biden judicial nominee on Wednesday with a basic legal question.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for several judicial nominations, including U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews’ nomination to serve as a U.S. district court judge, Kennedy asked Crews an elementary question about evidentiary discovery.
“Tell me how you analyze a Brady motion,” Kennedy asked Crews.
In a Brady motion, a defendant compels prosecutors in a criminal case to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence, that is, evidence that would help prove the innocence of the defendant. The fundamental legal procedure was established in the landmark Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland.
Brady Motions are central to the January 6th cases that have flooded the Federal courts since 2021, in light of clear evidence DOJ prosecutors withheld video evidence from those defendants.
Despite serving as a federal magistrate judge, Crews was unable to answer the question.
“How I analyze a Brady motion? Senator, in my four and a half years on the bench, I don’t believe I’ve had the occasion to address a Brady motion in my career,” he said.
“Do you know what a Brady motion is?” Kennedy followed up.
“Senator, in my time on the bench, I’ve not had occasion to address that, and so it’s not coming to mind at the moment what a Brady motion is,” Crews clarified.
The Republican senator then asked Crews if he was aware of Brady v. Maryland. Crews confirmed that he was aware of the case, then said — quite shockingly — that the case addressed Second Amendment rights.
Crews dug even deeper, and it only got worse, as the video below shows.
Kennedy did not follow up with another question. Instead, he allowed Crews’ wildly incorrect answer to hang in the air for good rhetorical effect.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) responded to the embarrassing moment by noting that every first-year law school student could have answered the question — or would have flunked criminal law class.
“Wow. This is basic criminal procedure. If a [first-year law student] gave this answer, he or she would flunk criminal law,” Cruz reacted
Wow. This is basic criminal procedure.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 22, 2023
If a 1L gave this answer, he or she would flunk Criminal Law.
But the Biden White House would then try to make you a federal judge…. https://t.co/Ez4pGLK3NM
Many lawyers on Twitter were stunned by Crews’ utter ignorance:
This is akin to a surgeon not knowing what a scalpel is.
— MarkHyman (@MarkHyman) March 22, 2023
Not knowing Brady should be an instant no vote.
— Lornik (@Lornik4) March 22, 2023
This was not Kennedy’s first rodeo in making a complete fool of an unqualified Biden diversity hire.
In January, state Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren – up for another lifetime appointment – could not answer the most basic questions from Kennedy about the U.S. Constitution itself:
One Twitter user posted the ugly truth behind the diversity picks of Biden and their legal – and intellectual – weakness:
Here is the entire exchange in its horrific detail:
