Judge Maldonado couldn’t be immediately reached for comment late Tuesday.
During March’s hearing, which involved five total judicial nominations, Judge Maldonado attributed some of the backlog to the reassignment of additional cases due to the exit of three of the district’s other judges after she joined the bench. She also noted that she was confirmed near the end of COVID-19 delays.
“I had cases set for trial that were older and should have gone to trial during the COVID period, but for obvious reasons they did not,” she said.
Judge Maldonado also said that she and her clerks have a plan for prioritizing motions and reducing the backlog.
