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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Darrel James Papillion to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Born in Eunice, LA, Mr. Papillion received his B.A. from Louisiana State University and his J.D. from LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He then clerked for Associate Justice Catherine D. Kimball of the Louisiana Supreme Court before entering private practice at a law firm in New Orleans. In 1999, he moved to Baton Rouge, where he has maintained a busy trial and litigation practice. He has significant experience in both State and Federal court, and he has tried over 30 cases to verdict, including more than a dozen jury trials.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Papillion has served as a special prosecutor for the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office, as a mediator, and as a court-appointed special master in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish. He has also taught law school courses at both LSU and Southern University in Baton Rouge. And he has served as president of both the Baton Rouge Bar Association and the Louisiana State Bar Association. The American Bar Association rated Mr. Papillion as unanimously ``well qualified'' to serve on the Eastern District of Louisiana. He has the strong support of both of his home State Senators--Mr. Cassidy and Mr. Kennedy--as well as the Louisiana legal community.

During Mr. Papillion's confirmation hearing, Senator Kennedy called him a ``lawyer's lawyer.'' I couldn't agree more. Mr. Papillion has deep ties to Louisiana and decades of legal experience that will serve him well on the Federal bench. I strongly support his nomination, and I urge my colleagues to join me.

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