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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Leon Schydlower to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Born in Long Beach, CA, Judge Schydlower received his B.A from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. After completing law school, Judge Schydlower began his legal career in the U.S. Navy, first as an assistant staff judge advocate, then as a military prosecutor. Thereafter, he joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii as a special assistant U.S. attorney, where he handled Federal law enforcement cases at the trial and appellate levels.

After leaving government service, Judge Schydlower practiced commercial litigation and medical malpractice defense at Kemp Smith, P.C. He later operated his own firm, where he handled Federal criminal defense cases and various business litigation matters. In 2015, Judge Schydlower was appointed to serve as a U.S. magistrate judge for the same district to which he is nominated. On the bench, he has issued more than 34,000 orders, reports and recommendations, opinions, and orders on motions.

The American Bar Association has unanimously rated Judge Schydlower ``well qualified'' to serve on the district court, and he has the strong support of his home State Senators, Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Cruz.

Taken together, Schydlower's service to his country in the military and as a prosecutor, as well as his courtroom experience both on and off the bench, make him well-suited to serve on the Federal bench with distinction.

I urge my colleagues to support his nomination.

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