Tim Kaine: “I rise today in support of Magistrate Judge Robert Ballou of Virginia, nominee to be U.S. district judge for the Western…”

“I rise today in support of Magistrate Judge Robert Ballou of Virginia, nominee to be U.S. district judge for the Western District of Virginia. In about 10 minutes, we will move into a cloture vote to advance his nomination, and I am proud to stand in support of this great jurist. Judge Ballou has deep and abiding ties to the Commonwealth. He was born in Roanoke, VA, just like my wife, and he graduated from the University of Virginia and then from UVA Law School. Other than a judicial clerkship for the late Judge Peter Beer on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Judge Ballou has spent his entire 35-year legal career in Virginia. Following that clerkship, Judge Ballou worked in private practice in both Richmond and Roanoke from 1988 through 2011. He built a successful civil litigation practice, and he regularly appeared in State and Federal courts. Judge Ballou became a U.S. magistrate judge for the Western District of Virginia in 2011. Madam President is a lawyer and, I know, understands the role that magistrates play in the Federal court system. First, they usually have to go through a fairly rigorous application process where they are chosen by the sitting article 3 judges in the court to serve in the magistrate's role.…”