SHAHEEN: LANDYA McCAFFERTY WILL MAKE AN OUTSTANDING FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

(Washington, DC) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) spoke on the Senate floor this morning to call for a vote to confirm Landya McCafferty as the next federal district court judge for the District of New Hampshire.  Shaheen highlighted McCafferty’s strong qualifications and experience that qualify her for the federal bench.  If confirmed, McCafferty would be the first woman to serve on the federal bench in New Hampshire.  A vote on McCafferty’s nomination is expected later today.

Below are Shaheen’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, I rise in support of Landya McCafferty’s nomination to the federal district court for the District of New Hampshire.

If confirmed, Landya will be the first woman to serve on the federal bench in New Hampshire. 

But it’s not Landya’s gender that matters – it’s her professional experience and her personal qualities that make her stand out. 

She has widespread support throughout the New Hampshire legal community, and will make an excellent addition to the federal district court in New Hampshire.

Landya McCafferty is currently the U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Hampshire.  

Her federal court experience also includes clerking for two district court judges and at the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

She has also prosecuted professional misconduct cases for the New Hampshire Supreme Court Attorney Discipline Office, served as an appellate and trial attorney in the highly-regarded New Hampshire Public Defender Program and worked in private practice as a civil litigator.

And Landya is an innovator.  As a Magistrate Judge, she has become a nationally-recognized expert and teacher on how to use technology to achieve a more efficient and paperless workflow in the federal court system.

She was also unanimously rated “well qualified” by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary – their highest rating. 

Landya is also active in the legal community outside of the courtroom. 

For the past decade, she has lectured at continuing legal education seminars on various topics, primarily on legal ethics, and has also presented guest lectures on legal ethics and civil procedure at the University Of New Hampshire School Of Law.

Mr. President, it’s unfortunate that it has taken so long for a well-qualified, non-controversial district court nomination like this one to finally receive a floor vote. 

But I have no doubt that Landya McCafferty will be an outstanding federal district court judge, and I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.   I yield the floor.