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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Justice Maria Kahn, who has been nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Since 2017, Justice Kahn has served as an associate justice for the Connecticut Supreme Court. Over the past 6 years, she has authored over 55 opinions. Prior to her appointment, she also briefly served on the Connecticut Appellate Court, where she authored eight opinions. Justice Kahn began her judicial career on the State's Superior Court in 2006 and presided over thousands of matters, 50 criminal trials, and several civil trials.

Prior to joining the bench, Justice Kahn spent her entire time in practice in government service. She began her legal career as a deputy assistant public defender for the Connecticut Public Defender Services in 1991. In 1993, she became a staff attorney in the Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. Most recently, Justice Kahn served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. As an AUSA, she worked in the civil division from 1997 to 1999 and the criminal division from 1999 to 2004 before being promoted to computer crimes coordinator. Across these roles, she tried dozens of cases and argued two appeals before the Second Circuit and one before the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Born in Benguela, Angola, Justice Kahn immigrated to the United States when she was 10. She earned her B.A. cum laude from New York University in 1986 and her J.D. from Fordham Law School in 1989. She also clerked for the Honorable Peter C. Dorsey on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut for 2 years.

Justice Kahn enjoys the strong support of Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, and she has been unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association to serve on the Second Circuit. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting this eminently qualified nominee.

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