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"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\">McConnell</p>           WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiffs attorney Jack McConnell will have to wait a few days before the Senate Judiciary Committee debates his nomination to a federal judgeship.<br /><br />The committee postponed a hearing scheduled for Thursday until next week, the Providence Journal reported. The article says the delay was granted partly to give Republicans time to address their concerns about McConnell, a heavy campaign contributor to Democrats.<br /><br />McConnell was recommended by two Rhode Island senators to whom he gave more than $25,000. President Barack Obama went through with the nomination.<br /><br />Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed recommended McConnell, of law firm Motley Rice, to fill a vacancy in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island last year.<br /><br />\"Jack McConnell is a brilliant legal mind and an outstanding community leader. We believe he possesses the experience, intellect, and temperament to be a great judge on the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island,\" a statement released by the senators said.<br /><br />\"He has gotten strong support from both sides of the aisle in Rhode Island and we hope his confirmation will proceed smoothly.\"<br /><br />The American Bar Association believes McConnell is qualified to be a federal judge, though at least one of the 12 voters felt differently.<br /><br />Three on the 15-member panel that grades presidential appointments for federal judgeships abstained from voting on McConnell, and either one or two members voted McConnell not qualified.<br /><br />March's voting results showed a substantial majority (at least 10) of the 12 said McConnell was qualified, the second-highest of three possible ratings. One or two voted not qualified, and none voted well-qualified.<br /><br />All totaled, McConnell and his wife Sarah have given $46,500 to current Democratic senators this century, not counting donations to national party organizations that helped Democrats get elected to federal positions.<br /><br />McConnell represented the State of Rhode Island in unsuccessful litigation against the former manufacturers of lead paint. Whitehouse, then the attorney general, hired the firm to file suit in 1999.<br /><br />McConnell was also a member of the litigation team that brought suit against tobacco companies on behalf of states, resulting in the $246-billion, 46-state Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998. He will make millions of dollars in fees every year until 2024.<br /><br />After Whitehouse left the Attorney General's Office, the McConnells pumped $12,600 into his campaign fund. Whitehouse took office in 2007.<br /><br />Since 2001, the McConnels have given Reed $13,200, including $8,800 for his 2008 re-election campaign.<br /><br />Outside of Rhode Island, the McConnells have supported 11 other senators since 2000. They are:<br /><br />-Minnesota's Al Franken, who received $1,000 for the Franken Recount Fund in 2008;<br /><br />-New Mexico's Tom Udall, to whom the McConnells gave $3,000;<br /><br />-Washington's Maria Cantwell, to whom the McConnells gave $4,200;<br /><br />-Connecticut's Chris Dodd, to whom the McConnells gave $1,000;<br /><br />-Pennsylvania's Bob Casey, to whom the McConnells gave $500;<br /><br />-Florida's Bill Nelson, to whom the McConnells gave $3,000;<br /><br />-Washington's Patty Murray, to whom the McConnells gave $2,000;<br /><br />-Nevada's Harry Reid, to whom the McConnells gave $1,000;<br /><br />-Indiana's Evan Bayh, to whom the McConnells gave $1,000;<br /><br />-New York's Chuck Schumer, to whom the McConnells gave $1,000; and<br /><br />-Michigan's Debbie Stabenow, to whom the McConnells gave $3,000.<br /><br />Sarah McConnell also gave $10,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2008. <br /><br />Among members of the Obama administration, the McConnells gave $12,000 to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in 2004 for his Senate campaign, as well as $8,000 to Chief of Staff and former Congressman Rahm Emanuel in 2003.<br /><br /><em>From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.</em>"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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