[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome back. Seven years after former NBA player, Lorenzen Wright, was found murdered in a field in Memphis, Tennessee, a new twist in the case. His ex-wife, Sherra Wright-Robinson, has been arrested and charged in connection with the basketball star's death, along with a second suspect, a man identified as Billy Ray Turner. He was arraigned earlier this week and is being held at the Shelby County jail in Memphis. The district attorney there spoke about the charges earlier today.
[Amy Weirich, District Attorney, Shelby County, Tennessee:] There are bits and pieces to this case that have been solved. But the defendants that have been indicted this week, Tuesday, the Shelby County grand jury returned indictments against Sherra Wright and Billy Turner for conspiracy to kill Lorenzen Wright and first-degree murder of Lorenzen Wright. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
[Whitfield:] When police were asked about the relationship between the two suspects, police said, quote, "It's safe to say they knew each other." President Trump's efforts to remake the federal courts are off to a rather quick start, with the Senate confirming 12 appeals court judges in the president's first year, a modern record. But some of Trump's nominees have come under fire for their extreme lack of experience or even basic legal knowledge. The latest example, Matthew Petersen, a commissioner on the Federal Elections Commission. CNN justice reporter, Laura Jarrett, has the story.
[Laura Jarrett, Cnn Justice Reporter:] Fred, this cringe-worthy exchange between Republican Senator John Kennedy and President Trump's nominee for a powerful seat on the federal bench in D.C. is raising questions about the qualifications of the people President Trump is appointing. In this case, Matthew Petersen admits he hasn't tried a case, has no basic grasp on basic legal motions filed routinely in federal court, and really no familiarity with the legal standards he'll be tasked with applying if confirmed. Take a listen.
[Sen. John Neely Kennedy, , Louisiana:] Have you ever tried a jury trial?
[Matthew Petersen, Judicial Nominee:] I have not.
[Kennedy:] Civil?
[Petersen:] No.
[Kennedy:] Criminal?
[Petersen:] No.
[Kennedy:] Bench?
[Petersen:] No.
[Kennedy:] State or federal court?
[Petersen:] I have not.
[Kennedy:] Do you know what a motion in limine is?
[Petersen:] I probably would not be able to give you a good definition.
[Kennedy:] Do you know what the Younger Abstention Doctrine is?
[Petersen:] I've heard of it, but, I, again.
[Kennedy:] How about the Pullman Abstention Doctrine?
[Petersen: I -- Kennedy:] You'll all see that a lot in federal court. OK.
[Jarrett:] This exchange right on the heels of news earlier this week that the White House is also withdrawing the nomination of Brett Tally, who was unanimously rated not qualified by the American Bar Association, as well as the nomination of Jeff Mateer, who was up for a seat on the federal trial court in Texas, but our "KFile" team found comments where he disparaged transgender children Fred?
[Whitfield:] Laura Jarrett, thank you so much. Let's bring in our legal guys. Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney, and Richard Friedman, a criminal defense attorney. Good to see you both.
[Avery Friedman, Civil Rights Attorney & Law Professor:] Hey, Fred.
[Richard Herman, Criminal Defense Attorney & Law Professor:] Good to see you, Fredricka
[Whitfield:] Happy Hanukkah, happy holidays.
[Herman:] You, too.
[Whitfield:] Thank you. You first, Avery. This gentleman nominated for a lifetime appointment. The questions that Mr. Kennedy was asking about his knowledge or experience of, you know, different various types of trial, you know, attorney work or even awareness of motions. Is that typical that an attorney or would have had all of that experience before being considered for this kind of bench?
[Friedman:] Yes! I mean, the amazing thing about this is not that he didn't know anything, the idea that you appear before a Judiciary Committee and I've done it and believe me, you prepare, because you've got like 10 people firing questions at the same time. What it seems like is I don't think Matthew Petersen is a lunkhead, Fredricka. I think he wasn't prepared. I think he knows nothing about federal court. And it's the best example. And give credit to Senator Kennedy, from Louisiana, who is a Trump supporter who supported his other judicial nominations, but he said, you know what, we are a check and balance against the executive branch and, you know what, within five minutes, there was nothing left of Matthew Petersen. He may be good for an administrative post somewhere, but in a federal courthouse, Fredricka, huh-uh, wrong guy.
[Whitfield:] It was a humiliating moment. You don't have to be from the field of law to just kind of feel for Petersen at that moment.
[Herman:] He's not qualified, Fred, and I don't believe the ABA said that.
[Friedman:] Yes, they did.
[Herman:] This is so disturbing. This is so disturbing, Fred, on so many levels. You know, the United States district court judge, these are some of the best and brightest of the judges in the history of the United States jurisprudence system. They really are. They're appointments for life. They don't answer politically. They don't have to run for office. You walk into a federal court, these are very serious cases, Fred. That's where I make a living. People are facing 20, 30 years in prison. The civil lawsuits are usually $100,000 and above. It's very, very serious. And to think the credulity of this individual to think he had the ability to be a federal court judge, it's like Sarah Palin, who couldn't count to 10, thought she could be the vice president of the United States.
[Whitfield:] Except he didn't nominate himself. Somebody said, hey, I got this great potential opportunity, you want to be able to step up and say yes.
[Herman:] No. No.
[Whitfield:] But then he's also being underserved perhaps by others who said, we do think you're qualified, it doesn't matter that you haven't, you know, argued in civil, you know, or bench or criminal cases.
[Herman:] No. No.
[Friedman:] Don McGahn, the White House counsel, is who. That's the answer.
[Herman:] No, he never Fred, he never did a trial! He never did a small claims court trial.
[Whitfield:] Even we heard Senator Kennedy say, no depositions, I mean, independently
[Herman:] Not one deposition did he handle on his own, Fred. Come on, he didn't know a motion in limine. A first-year law student, a paralegal, it's on every bar exam. How do you not know that? It's an abomination. Fred
[Whitfield:] You haven't used that word in a while. I like that. Avery, the White House though is contending, and they even put out a statement, saying Petersen is qualified. The president's opponents are the ones who keep trying to distract. Senator John Kennedy, you know, the Republican there, you know, was the lawmaker who was grilling Petersen. This is what he said when he was a guest on CNN just last night.
[Kennedy:] You can't just walk into a federal courthouse for the very first time and say, here I am, I think I want to be a judge. It just doesn't work that way.
[Whitfield:] So Avery, I guess everyone is relieved that, no, it doesn't work that way. It shouldn't be so easy. You actually have to be up for the task.
[Friedman:] Well, that's right. Beyond the fact that clearly the nominee hadn't been prepared, this isn't lunk-headedness, this is stupidity. I think it's unbridled arrogance coming out of the White House counsel. Don McGahn was one of the well, the most instrumental person in setting this nominee up. That poor sucker. You walked into the Judiciary Committee and a Republican Senator ate the guy alive. If anything, the blame and let me tell you something, in the history of federal court, in the history of our federal legal system it is not exclusively Republican. Democrats have done the same thing. When you put in a candidate like that, by and large, you're going to see exactly what happened yesterday. And you know what, it proves that the system works. The legislative branch checked the executive branch and, yesterday, arrogance lost, and competence won.
[Whitfield:] You can't help but be humiliated for Matthew Petersen, too. Either he wasn't prepped, or somehow no one knew that these are the kinds of questions you would be asked or needed to be prepared for in order to, you know, sit on the bench to have such an incredibly important job for life.
[Herman:] Fred, these were not esoteric questions they were asking him. A motion in limine is a motion made before trial to preclude evidence. It's a basic motion. It's one and one is two. If you're a lawyer, you know this, Fred. He didn't know that!
[Friedman:] And that's why he wasn't going to get confirmed.
[Herman:] It's not preparation
[Whitfield:] Maybe he thought he would not and people around him thought it was going to happen. All right. Well, Richard
[Herman:] Clearly, he was not he missed law school the day they taught law. This guy
[Friedman:] Ah, this guy
[Herman:] This is a disgrace. This just shows utter incompetence by the administration to appoint someone like this to the federal bench. It's a disgrace. Even the Republicans are losing their minds over this.
[Whitfield:] I'm no attorney, but just watching it, it was more than cringe worthy. It was painful.
[Herman:] Exactly right.
[Whitfield:] feel for everybody involved here. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, good to see you both.
[Herman:] Thanks, Fred. Congratulations on your nomination, 49th NAACP Image Awards.
[Whitfield:] Thank you.
[Herman:] You deserve it, Fred, congratulations.
[Friedman:] Absolutely.
[Whitfield:] Thank you so much. I feel really honored. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Avery and Richard. Appreciate it. Always helping us all shine. Have a great holiday, see you next time.
[Friedman:] You, too, yes.
[Herman:] Take care.
[Whitfield:] All right, we'll be right back.