Watch full video of Kennedy’s remarks here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today expressed his support for Darrel James Papillion to be confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Key comments from Kennedy’s introductory remarks are below:
“I have watched and observed Mr. Papillion on for years, really decades—we’ve both been around a while—both in his community and in our courts. He's a former president of our state Bar Association.”
“He has tried, I think, 33 cases in state court and federal court to verdict. He's been—for the longest time—he was a professor, an adjunct professor, at LSU law school in Baton Rouge.”
“Darrel is not a politician. . . . He's not an activist. He's a lawyer. He understands the magistery, the complexity, the nuances, the utility, the beauty of the law.”
“In every community of any size in America, there are always two, maybe three lawyers, that I call ‘lawyers’ lawyers.’ These lawyers are not—they're not necessarily the ones in the paper every day, and they're not necessarily the loudest, but these are the lawyers that other lawyers hire if the other lawyers need a lawyer. And there are never more than two or three. And Darrel is one of those lawyers.”
“I mean he's one of those lawyers that, if you're a lawyer, and you need a lawyer—doesn't matter what it's for—you're going to call him and say, ‘What do you think?’”
“So, I'm going to support him—have been supporting him. I hope you will, too. He’s a real lawyer’s lawyer.”
Watch the full exchange here.