Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Wednesday that she has serious concerns with one of President Joe Biden s Black judicial nominees and referenced his rap sheet of old speeding tickets, a suggestion of a criminal record when there is none.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Blackburn said she would oppose Andre Mathis nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit for a few reasons. She accused the White House of not providing meaningful consultation on his nomination, which is for a court seat based in her state. She said she didnt think Mathis had enough experience, either. She said her preferred nominee was Camille McMullen, an African American judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

But then, oddly, she brought up Mathis driving record.

He has a rap sheet with a laundry list of citations, including multiple failures to appear in court, said the Republican senator. In Tennessee, we expect our judges to respect the law. If Mr. Mathis thought he was above the law before, imagine how hell conduct himself if hes confirmed as a federal judge.

What Blackburn referred to as a rap sheet, a term for a persons criminal history that stems from the acronym for Record of Arrests and Prosecutions, was actually related to three speeding tickets Mathis got more than 10 years ago, one of which was for going 5 miles over the speed limit. His drivers license was temporarily suspended when he didnt pay them on time and did not show up to court for them.

Mathis told the committee he has never been arrested or charged with a crime. In the case of his speeding tickets, he said he simply forgot to pay them and didnt realize his license had been suspended until he got a notice in the mail from the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles, at which point he paid his tickets.

He was clearly humiliated that his old speeding tickets were even an issue.

I highly regret that Im in this situation, Mathis said, choking up. I feel like Ive embarrassed my family. While I deserve this, they dont.