Biden gun charges remain before judge who questioned plea deal, placing spotlight on her

Editor's note: This story has been updated with arraignment information.

Now that President Joe Biden's son Hunter has been indicted on three federal weapons charges, the next step is for the 53-year-old's arraignment — which will be in person on Oct. 3 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke.

Burke, however, is not the judge who scrutinized lawyers two months ago about concerns she had over the plea deal they presented her.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika caused heads to turn when she told Biden's defense lawyers and federal prosecutors on July 26 that she would not "rubber stamp" the agreement they had brokered, describing it as potentially "unconstitutional" and lacking "legal precedent."

HUNTER BIDEN CASE: How the plea agreement fell apart in federal court, leading to not guilty plea

This ended Biden's expected guilty plea that day to two federal tax misdemeanors, but it pushed Noreika into the spotlight.

Google searches for Noreika shot up more than 5,000% around the world in the 24 hours after news of the plea derailment got out with the most interest — expectedly — coming from the United States followed by Denmark, Belgium, Canada and the United Kingdom, according to analysis of search queries on Google. In the states, Google searches in Washington, D.C., outdid queries in Delaware where the 57-year-old has been a judge since she was confirmed in 2018.

MORE ON HUNTER BIDEN: How last-minute court filings could prompt sanctions against his legal team

Her reluctance to accept a plea agreement left some legal minds saying Noreika not only upheld the reputation of Delaware's federal bench but showed its independence.

"I am very proud of the judge for upholding the rule of law and questioning what looks like a fix and favor for the politically powerful," civil rights attorney Thomas S. Neuberger told Delaware Online/The News Journal.

While it might be understandable if he weren't a fan of hers after she dismissed a major lawsuit he filed on behalf of Wilmington firefighters killed and injured in an arson, Neuberger compared her courage with that of former Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Collins Seitz when he ruled that Black students were receiving an inferior education and must be admitted to white schools.

That ruling was subsequently appealed and heard by the U.S. Supreme Court as part of the Brown v. Board of Education case, which ended racial segregation in public schools.

"There's all this pressure on her and instead she says, 'I can't be a party to that,'" Neuberger said of Noreika, adding, "She was up at the plate and she hit a home run. She did the right thing."

Biden was set to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor charges for not paying his taxes in 2017 and 2018, which he has since paid. He was also set to enter a pretrial program for a gun charge, which would have resulted in the charge being dropped if he complied with the program's requirements.

Since the agreement's disintegration in July, Noreika has dismissed Biden's tax case. Federal prosecutors have indicated they plan to pursue tax charges against Biden in another district, perhaps Washington, D.C., or California where he lives.

MORE ON HUNTER BIDEN: President's son indicted on federal gun charges for allegedly lying about drug addiction

Who is Maryellen Noreika?

Born in Pittsburgh in 1966, Noreika graduated from Lehigh University in 1988. She received her master's degree in biology from Columbia Graduate University School of Arts and Sciences in 1990 and her law degree in 1993 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

After graduating magna cum laude from law school, Noreika went to work at Wilmington's Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell where she'd been a summer associate in 1992, according to answers she provided the U.S. Senate's Judiciary Committee.

The Wilmington law firm did not respond to a message seeking comment about Noreika.

In her first two years of civil trial experience, Noreika said her work was initially split between intellectual property and complex litigation in the federal courts and corporate litigation in state courts. After that, her practice was mostly done in federal courts where she focused on intellectual property.

Noreika said she was involved in at least 30 cases that went to verdict or final decision — she was chief counsel in nine of those.

While most of her litigation was done in federal court, starting in 2002 Noreika served as a guardian ad litem for children in Delaware Family Court. A guardian ad litem is assigned by the court to represent the best interests of a child.

MORE ON HUNTER BIDEN: President's son sues IRS for allegedly releasing his confidential tax information

During that time, she was appointed to represent seven children — ages ranging from 4 to 16 — that involved different custody issues, including allegations of sexual and physical abuse, neglect and abandonment. The cases, which could last from two to three years, required not only legal work, but also a commitment to developing a relationship with the children to understand their desires and determine what is in their best interests.

"While I estimate I have spent hundreds of hours on my guardian ad litem matters over the years, I have not attempted to keep records of all my time," she said in the U.S. Senate's Judiciary Committee questionnaire. "For example, the time spent included taking children out to lunch and to dinner and fun activities to get them to engage with me and trust me. I estimate that I have spent in excess of 50 hours a year on pro bono activities most years."

While a registered Democrat from 2000 through the 2016 presidential election, Noreika's political contributions have leaned toward Republicans, according to the Federal Election Commission's website.

Her donations to Democrats include Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential bid and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2009. Republicans she's given money to are Rick Santorum's 2006 Senate run, John McCain's 2008 presidential race and Mitt Romney's bid for president in 2012, and Noreika has repeatedly contributed to Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

Noreika has had no party affiliation since the 2020 presidential election, according to the Delaware Department of Elections.

In 2017, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons put forward Noreika and Colm F. Connolly to replace judicial vacancies created by Judge Sue L. Robinson, now retired, and Judge Gregory M. Sleet, who took senior status. Then-President Donald Trump nominated Noreika and Connolly.

"I'm pleased that the White House consulted with Senator Carper and me and accepted our recommendations for the U.S. District Court bench. I am also grateful for our Judicial Nominating Committee’s hard work in evaluating several excellent candidates," Sen. Coons said in a 2017 statement. "Colm Connolly and Maryellen Noreika are seasoned attorneys, with impressive trial skills, deep experience in federal practice, and profound respect for the law. I am confident that they will both be capable jurists, and I look forward to their confirmation hearings."

The two were confirmed the following year.

From the bench

Following the collapse of Biden's plea agreement, Noreika gave his defense team and federal prosecutors 30 days to submit briefs on why the plea deal’s form was appropriate and why the obligations given to her by the diversion agreement were appropriate within legal precedent.

While this case seems to have gotten her the most attention, there have been other notable Delaware cases Noreika judged.

In 2019 she put a high-stakes lawsuit challenging Delaware's unclaimed property laws on hold pending a state court ruling on the validity of an unprecedented subpoena at the heart of the case. Illinois-based chemical supplier Univar filed the lawsuit after state officials issued a subpoena demanding a host of internal company financial records as they sought to conduct an unclaimed property audit. Delaware's Chancery Court issued a ruling in 2020 enforcing the state's subpoena.

MORE ON JUDGE MARYELLEN NOREIKA: Federal judge defers to state court on Delaware abandoned property fight

In 2020, Noreika dismissed a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Wilmington firefighters killed or injured in a 2016 Canby Park arson. In her 21-page opinion, Noreika ruled the federal civil lawsuit failed to "allege the necessary underlying constitutional violation" for the claims brought forth by the families of the three dead firefighters and the surviving firefighters. A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge agreed with Noreika.

Noreika dismissed a lawsuit in 2021 against New Castle County and its government and police leaders that claimed they wrongfully terminated and discriminated against a former county police officer. Noreika wrote in the dismissal that the lawsuit filed by Melissa Clemons failed to make its case against the county and the individuals, which included County Executive Matt Meyer, former Police Chief Col. Vaughn Bond, Chief Human Resources Officer Vanessa Phillips and former Lt. Col. Quinton Watson.

Last year, Noreika issued an injunction barring Delaware from enforcing provisions of a new law outlawing the manufacture and possession of homemade "ghost guns," which can't be traced by law enforcement officials because they don't have serial numbers. The lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include the gun-rights advocates Firearms Policy Coalition, challenging the law is scheduled for trial in January.

Noreika is presiding over a defamation lawsuit filed by John Paul Mac Issac, the Trolley Square computer repair shop owner who claimed Hunter Biden dropped off his computer at his Wilmington shop and never retrieved it. This led to the leak and publication of private photographs and correspondence belonging to the president’s son. Mac Isaac is claiming Hunter Biden, as well as CNN and The Daily Beast and California Democrat U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, characterized him as a thief and a Russian agent causing him to close his business.

She also presided over a lawsuit that claimed Delaware's provision of splitting positions on the state's highest courts between Republicans and Democrats was unconstitutional. James Adams, a former Democrat who is now an unaffiliated voter, claimed the provision violated his First and 14th Amendment rights by barring him from being considered for a judgeship on Superior Court, a position he's twice applied for and been rejected. Gov. John Carney filed a motion to dismiss Adams' case, but Noreika ruled in September that Adams had legal standing to challenge the major-party provision. Carney acknowledged in January the provision in Delaware's constitution regarding appointments to the state's three highest courts was unconstitutional and ended the legal battle.

More: Federal judge bars enforcement of Delaware 'ghost gun' restrictions

More: Wilmington computer repairman at center of Hunter Biden laptop story sues news outlets

More: Carney agrees restriction on judgeships is unconstitutional

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Judge Maryellen Noreika remains on the Hunter Biden case. What to know