WASHINGTON -- A nominee to the federal bench in New York came under blistering criticism Wednesday from the American Bar Association, which found her prone to fits of rage and unqualified for the job because of her abrasive temperament.
The unusual finding was delivered by an ABA representative at a Senate confirmation hearing on the nomination of former state judge Dora Irizarry, 48, to the Eastern District of New York.
Lawyers in confidential interviews said that Irizarry "was gratuitously rude, abrasive and demeaned attorneys, that she flew off the handle in a rage for no apparent reason and would scream at attorneys, that she was impatient and did not fully listen to legal arguments, and did not have a good grasp of the legal issues presented to her," Patricia Hynes, who conducted the ABA inquiry, told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Irizarry, 48, a one-time Republican candidate for New York state attorney general, told the Senate panel she was "frankly very surprised to hear of these allegations" and had always tried to run a stern but impartial court.
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