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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the confirmation of Martin Estrada to be U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

The Central District of California is the largest Federal judicial district in the country. It serves over 19 million Californians, almost twice as many people as the next largest district, and it serves about half the population of the State of California.

It spans from San Luis Obispo County, home of Los Padres National Forest, all the way to Riverside County and the Mojave Desert. It spans from the Pacific Ocean to the eastern border with Arizona and Nevada. And it is home to some of the most diverse communities in the country.

So having painted that picture of the district that it serves, you can imagine that to effectively serve as the chief Federal law enforcement officer for such a large and diverse district, you need someone with a proven track record of experience, of credibility with the community, and the character to fight for truth and fairness in our judicial system.

Martin Estrada is exactly the right person for the job. He is a proud son of immigrants from Guatemala. Martin has spent most of his life in and around the Central District community that he will now serve as U.S. attorney.

He was raised near Costa Mesa in Orange County and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Irvine. After earning his law degree at Stanford Law School, Martin returned home to the Central District, where he clerked for Federal District Judge Robert Timlin and then later for Judge Arthur Alarcon for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

After spending time as an associate at the highly regarded Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson, Martin served for 7 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District, working to protect communities from major crimes. Now, since 2014, he has been a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, and he has represented clients from before both Federal and State courts in a diverse array of legal practice areas. Meanwhile, he has maintained a significant pro bono practice, fighting for equal justice and equal access to justice for Dreamers, Latinos, Native American students, students with disabilities, and more. He has excelled at every stage of his career, and he is more than qualified to serve as U.S. attorney for California's Central District.

I have no doubt that he will bring a temperament, intelligence, and work ethic worthy of the community he will now once again serve.

I want to thank all of you, colleagues. I want to thank you for supporting his confirmation.

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