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Floor Speech
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Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I want to thank my friend--is it 43 years?--Senator Kaine for his comments.
I apologize to the Presiding Officer and folks up front that I didn't hear all his comments. So you may be hearing from me a bit of repetition of what Tim has already said, but I think, in terms of Judge Ballou, who Senator Kaine has already mentioned, a little bit of repetition might be appropriate.
I also join with Senator Kaine in urging all my colleagues, in about 8 minutes, to support President Biden's choice to serve as a U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Virginia. He really is--Bob Ballou is a pillar of the Virginia legal community.
I want to start with where Senator Kaine left off. He went through our whole vetting process under the Trump administration. And the fact that someone has, at least in terms of our criteria, I think, qualified as an extraordinarily competent, well-suited individual under both President Trump and President Biden is a real credit. And I give the White House credit for moving forward and putting his name forward.
I think Senator Kaine has already mentioned the fact that he got bipartisan support in committee, something that, unfortunately, is becoming rarer and rarer; but, as probably has already been indicated, this is the kind of individual who has both the legal acumen and the temperament, I think, to be a great judge.
He is a Virginia native, originally from Roanoke, a two-time UVA graduate. Following his time at UVA and UVA Law School, he originally clerked for Judge Peter Beer of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Following this brief stint outside of Virginia, he returned to private practice in Richmond and Roanoke, where he litigated complex civil issues.
In 2011, he was selected by the article 3 judges of the Western District to support as a magistrate judge. Over the past 12 years, Judge Ballou has continued earning the respect and admiration of those article 3 judges that, hopefully, after the next few days, he will actually serve with and, I think, will do, again, a great job.
He will be replacing retiring Judge Jones. Senator Kaine and I both have had the pleasure--and I think Senator Kaine actually may have practiced with him occasionally. But they are big shoes to fill, and he will do that.
Again, as has been mentioned, Judge Ballou has been really known as a magistrate judge for his temperament, the fact that lawyers who appear in his courtroom indicate that he works diligently, he always has an open mind, and he has a real sense of fairness.
He loves Southwest Virginia. His father had served as a State court judge. He has been very involved in community and charitable activities throughout the whole region.
This is, I think, a man whose time has come. I wish he would have been already on the bench. We will have a chance to rectify that with our move to cloture today and then, hopefully, in a couple of days later, his confirmation as a judge from the Western District of Virginia.
So I heartily join my friend Senator Kaine and urge the confirmation of Judge Ballou as a judge to the Western District of Virginia.
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