-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

Judge Hawley's significant courtroom experience--as both a public defender and as a magistrate judge--will make him an excellent addition to the bench.

After graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the DePaul University College of Law, Judge Hawley clerked for Judge Michael P. McCuskey on both the Illinois Third District Appellate Court and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, as well as for Judge James D. Heiple on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Following his clerkships, Judge Hawley joined the Federal public defender's office for the Central District of Illinois. He served in that office for nearly 15 years, becoming the chief Federal public defender in 2011.

As a public defender, Judge Hawley litigated over 300 appeals in the Seventh Circuit, directly supervised over 1,000 appeals, and filed two briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2014, Judge Hawley was selected by the district judges of the Central District to serve as a magistrate judge. Since joining the bench, he has presided over 26 trials that have gone to verdict or judgment. In 2023, Chief Judge Sara Darrow designated Judge Hawley as the executive magistrate judge for the Central District.

Judge Hawley has the strong support from myself and Senator Duckworth. In addition, he was rated unanimously ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

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

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source