Michael Arthur Delaney (born July 19, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 28th

New Hampshire Attorney General The Attorney General of New Hampshire is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New Hampshire who serves as head of the New Hampshire Department of Justice. , the state's attorney general is John Formella. Qualifications and appointment Un ...

from 2009 to 2013. Delaney was appointed to the office of Attorney General by

New Hampshire Governor The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

John Lynch and decided not to seek reappointment by Governor

Maggie Hassan Margaret Coldwell Hassan (; née Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from New Hampshire. A Democrat, Hassan was elected to the Senate in 2016 while serving as the 81st ...

at the end of his term, instead taking a position at the McLane Law Firm. In 2023, Delaney was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

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 On May 18, 2023, it was announced that his nomination would be withdrawn because of the bipartisan opposition.

Early life

Delaney grew up as the youngest of five children in an Irish American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family in Danvers, Massachusetts. His father, Arthur Delaney, was a

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...

. He graduated from St John's Preparatory School in 1987. Delaney graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, receiving a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1991, and

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

, where he received a Juris Doctor in 1994.Press Release: Gov. Lynch Swears In Michael Delaney as Attorney General
, governor.nh.gov; August 24, 2009; accessed April 19, 2015.

Career

Delaney joined the law firm of Wiggin & Nourie in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Ha ...

in 1994 after graduating from law school; there, he specialized in business litigation. He joined the New Hampshire Attorney General's office in 1999, initially serving as an assistant attorney general. Delaney then served as the Homicide Unit Chief in the office until 2004, when he became deputy attorney general. Delaney served as deputy attorney general until 2006, when he left that post to become Governor Lynch's legal counsel. Lynch appointed Delaney New Hampshire Attorney General in 2009 after accepting the resignation of

Kelly Ayotte Kelly Ann Ayotte ( ; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Ayotte served as New Hampshire Attorney General from ...

. Delaney was sworn in on August 24, 2009, upon being unanimously confirmed by the Executive Council. After leaving the attorney general's office, Delaney joined the law firm of McLane Middleton in its Manchester office. 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

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 Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on March 31, 2022. On February 15, 2023, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. 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." Owen Labrie was 18 years old at the time he was accused of raping the then 15-year-old student. Some Democrats have concerns about his nomination over his handling of a sexual assault case. Other Democrats and groups have expressed concern over a legal brief that defends a law related to abortion. On May 3, 2023, it was reported that since 2018, Delaney has been a board member of the New England Legal Foundation as well as on the their legal review committee. This foundation has opposed some of President Biden's positions on

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, consumer protection, and labor rights. On May 18, 2023, Delaney asked that his nomination be withdrawn because of the bipartisan opposition. On May 30, 2023, the White House officially withdrew his nomination.

Personal life

Delaney resides in

, with his wife, Caroline, and their three children.

References

External links