Chris Coons Questions Trump Nominee Jennifer Mascott on Delaware Bar Practice and Executive Power

Judicial Nominee's Delaware Legal Practice

• ❓ Senator Coons questioned Jennifer Mascott, a nominee for the Third Circuit, about her experience practicing law in Delaware.
• ❌ Mascott confirmed she has not practiced law in Delaware, though she is admitted to the Virginia and Maryland bars and has practiced as a public servant.
• 💡 She stated her intention to have chambers in Wilmington if confirmed, but her practice has been primarily as an academic and public servant in Washington D.C.

Concerns Over Practical Legal Experience

• 📉 Coons expressed concern that Mascott's actual legal practice is limited, despite a lengthy record of scholarship and public commentary.
• 🚫 Mascott indicated she has taken no depositions and has not argued motions in limine, though she has filed dozens of appellate briefs and argued a district court case to verdict.
• 🎯 The nominee's experience is primarily appellate, with limited direct experience in trial courts, which Coons highlighted as a concern given the Third Circuit's docket.

Executive Power and Humphrey's Executor

• 🏛️ Coons raised Mascott's past public statement that the Supreme Court's 90-year-old Humphrey's Executor case was wrongly decided.
• ⚠️ Mascott, while standing by her academic work, committed to applying Supreme Court precedent as a lower court judge.
• ⚖️ The discussion touched on the separation of powers and the President's ability to remove executive branch officials, a topic Mascott stated is currently contested in courts.
• 🚫 Mascott declined to comment on the absolute merits of whether Congress can constitutionally restrict the removal of executive branch officials, citing ongoing legal debates.