Michael Delaney

Michael Arthur Delaney (born July 19, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 28th New Hampshire Attorney General from 2009 to 2013. He was appointed attorney general by governor John Lynch.

In 2023, Delaney was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. On May 18, 2023, it was announced that his nomination would be withdrawn because of bipartisan opposition.

Early life and education Delaney was born on July 19, 1969, in Lynn, Massachusetts. He grew up as the youngest of five children in an Irish American Catholic family in Danvers, Massachusetts. His father, Arthur Delaney, was a probation officer. He graduated from St John's Preparatory School in 1987.

Delaney graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1991 and earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.

Career Delaney joined the law firm of Wiggin & Nourie in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1994 after graduating from law school; there, he specialized in business litigation.

Delaney serves as the Co-Chair of the New Hampshire Campaign for Legal Services Leadership Council.

Failed nomination to court of appeals On January 18, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Delaney to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. On January 31, 2023, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated him to a seat vacated by Judge Jeffrey R. Howard, who assumed senior status on March 31, 2022. On February 15, 2023, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During the hearing, Delaney received criticism from senators regarding his authoring and filing of a motion seeking to strip a minor female rape victim of anonymity as part of representation of a New Hampshire private school. The allegations were made by the victim of the 2015 assault in a letter to the panel. The victim also wrote an opinion editorial in The Boston Globe saying Delaney "doesn't deserve to be a judge" and that supporting his nomination is equivalent to condoning "what Delaney and St. Paul's School put me and my family through."

Some Democrats expressed concerns about his nomination due to his handling of a sexual assault case. Other Democrats and groups expressed concern over a legal brief that defended a law related to abortion. On May 3, 2023, it was reported that, since 2018, Delaney had been a board member of the New England Legal Foundation, which had opposed some of Biden's positions on climate change, consumer protection, and labor rights.

On May 18, 2023, Delaney asked that his nomination be withdrawn because of bipartisan opposition.

Personal life Delaney has three children with his wife, Caroline.