FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Adam Telle
April 24 , 2007	(202)224-6408

WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate unanimously confirmed Gulfport’s Halil Suleyman Ozerden for United States District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi today, Senator Thad Cochran announced.  The Senate supported Ozerden’s nomination with a 95-0 roll call vote.

Prior to the vote, Senator Cochran made the following remarks on the floor of the Senate in support of Ozerden’s confirmation.

“Mr. President, I'm very pleased that this nomination is now before the Senate. The nominee is very well qualified to serve as a federal judge. He's a highly respected lawyer with a keen sense of fairness, and I think he will reflect great credit on the federal judiciary.

“Sul graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating from Georgetown, he attended the United States Navy Flight School in Pensacola, Florida, and then served for five years as a Naval Officer.

“He served as a bombardier and navigator aboard an A-6E intruder aircraft and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for missions flown over Iraq during operation "Restore Hope" in 1992 and 1993.  He also completed deployments to the Western Pacific and to the Persian Gulf aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk from 1992-1994.

“Sul is also a graduate of the Stanford School of Law, where he served as an Associate Editor on the Law Review. He then served as a law clerk to The Honorable Eldon E. Falon, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He then joined the law firm of Dukes, Dukes, Keating and Faneca in Gulfport, Mississippi, a highly respected law firm in our state.

He has practiced in state and federal courts throughout the Southeast and served as lead counsel in a wide range of complex cases. Sul is ranked by his fellow lawyers at the highest levels of professional accomplishment. He received a unanimous qualified rating from the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.

“Mr. President, I've come to know this nominee well and his family members, who are outstanding citizens of the Gulf Coast area of the State of Mississippi.  I'm very pleased that he accepted the nomination and is prepared to take his place on the bench of the federal court in our state. I am very pleased to urge the confirmation of this nominee.”