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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

After receiving his B.A. and J.D. from Northwestern University, Judge Kolar worked in private practice and clerked for Judge Wayne R. Andersen on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. From 2007 to 2018, Judge Kolar was an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana. He prosecuted a range of cases, including public corruption, terrorism- related offenses, violent crimes, narcotics conspiracies, and firearms offenses. Over the course of his legal career, Judge Kolar tried 16 cases to verdict and briefed or argued 20 appeals before the Seventh Circuit.

In 2019, Judge Kolar was selected by the district judges of the Northern District of Indiana to be a magistrate judge, where he presides over civil and criminal cases. Since 2009, Judge Kolar has also honorably served his country as a Reservist and on Active Duty in the U.S. Navy. Judge Kolar has the strong support from his home State Senators, Mr. Young and Mr. Braun. In addition, he was unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

Taken together, Judge Kolar's service to his country in the military and as a prosecutor, his extensive appellate experience, and his service as a magistrate judge make him well-suited to serve on the Seventh Circuit with distinction.

I urge my colleagues to support Judge Kolar's nomination.

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