U.S. Senate panel to consider McConnell judgeship

Published May 7, 2010 at 11:45 p.m.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for May 13 on the nomination of Providence lawyer John J. McConnell, Jr. to the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island.

He will be among five judges considered that day by the key panel - one to a federal appeals court, the rest to the trial courts at the federal district level.

McConnell, 51, is a top political campaign contributor and a successful plaintiffs lawyer - best known for the big roles he played in famous lawsuits against the tobacco and the lead-paint industries - who has won sparkling reviews from his patrons, Rhode Island Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as other members of the state's legal community.

Associate Superior Court Judge Netti C. Vogel said in a recent interview that McConnell would be "on anybody's list'' of the top five lawyers practicing in Rhode Island's state and federal courts.

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