[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 165 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 165

 In memory of Senior Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., of the United States 
               Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 1999

   Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Sessions, Mr. 
 Grassley, Mr. Biden, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kohl, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Feingold, 
   and Mr. Fitzgerald) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 In memory of Senior Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., of the United States 
               Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Whereas Frank M. Johnson, Jr. was appointed a United States District Judge in 
        Alabama by President Eisenhower in 1955;
Whereas Judge Johnson was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 
        Eleventh Circuit by President Carter in 1979;
Whereas in a time when men of lesser fortitude would have avoided direct 
        confrontation on the highly unpopular issues of school desegregation and 
        voting rights for African-Americans, Judge Johnson stood firm in 
        upholding the Constitution and the law;
Whereas Judge Johnson struck down the Montgomery, Alabama law that had mandated 
        that Rosa Parks sit in the back of a city bus, because he believed that 
        ``separate, but equal'' was inherently unequal;
Whereas Judge Johnson upheld the constitutionality of Federal laws granting 
        African-Americans the right to vote in Alabama elections, because he 
        believed in the concept of ``one man, one vote'';
Whereas despite tremendous pressure from Governor George Wallace, Judge Johnson 
        allowed the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery to proceed, 
        thus stirring the national conscience to enact the Voting Rights Act of 
        1965;
Whereas today, around a courthouse that bears Frank Johnson's name in 
        Montgomery, Alabama there are integrated schools, buses, and lunch 
        counters, and representative democracy flourishes in Alabama with 
        African-American state, country, and municipal officials who won their 
        offices in fair elections with the votes of African-American and white 
        citizens;
Whereas in part because of Judge Johnson's upholding of the law, attitudes that 
        were once intolerant and extreme have dissipated;
Whereas the members of the Senate extend our deepest sympathies to Judge 
        Johnson's family and the host of friends that he had across the country;
Whereas Judge Johnson passed away at his home in Montgomery, Alabama on July 23, 
        1999; and
Whereas the American people will always remember Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. for 
        exemplifying unwavering moral courage in the advancement of the wholly 
        American ideal that ``all men are created equal'' and deserve ``equal 
        protection of the laws'' and for upholding the law: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Senate hereby honors the memory of Judge Frank M. 
        Johnson, Jr. for his exemplary service to his country and for 
        his outstanding example of moral courage; and
            (2) when the Senate adjourns on this date it shall do so 
        out of respect to the memory of Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr.
                                 <all>