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Floor Speech

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Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I ask that I be permitted to complete my comments before we proceed to the next vote.

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Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the nomination of the Honorable Jennifer Hall to be our next district court judge for the District of Delaware.

One of the very busiest dockets in the entire Nation, the District of Delaware handles a remarkable amount of complex patent cases and cutting-edge commercial litigation. It takes a special judge to serve in this court, and Judge Hall's unique background and extensive legal experience make her an ideal candidate.

My colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed, advancing her nomination to this floor by a strong bipartisan vote of 16 to 5. Judge Hall received support from half of the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Ranking Member Graham and Senators Grassley, Cornyn, Lee, and Tillis.

She already knows the District of Delaware very well, serving as a magistrate judge since 2019. She has proven herself a legal powerhouse and, time and time again, has handled a high volume of the most complex cases.

Her legal experience before assuming the bench is just as impressive: 8 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Delaware, where she was chief of the civil division, leading hundreds of cases on behalf of our Federal Government. Prior to that, she practiced law at Fish & Richardson, P.C., where she litigated intellectual property and complex commercial cases.

A graduate of Penn Law, she clerked for Judge Kent Jordan on the Third Circuit and Judge Sharon Prost on the Federal Circuit. Before enrolling at Penn, she earned a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and molecular biochemistry at Yale, an education and background that will aid her as she decides complex patent and IP law cases.

You can see why the American Bar Association unanimously rated Judge Hall as ``well qualified'' to serve on the District of Delaware bench.

Mr. President, I know Judge Hall to be a balanced and thoughtful jurist, a skilled lawyer, and a compassionate human being--not just a great judge but a loving wife to her husband David and a devoted mother to their children. Judge Hall's exceptional qualifications, strong character, and even temperament will make her an asset to the District of Delaware.

Yesterday, we voted by a margin of 63 to 26 to invoke cloture. I am hopeful for an even stronger vote just now. I support her nomination without reservation and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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