Whereas the United States Supreme Court has played a
fundamental role in interpreting the Nation’s laws;
Whereas Louis D. Brandeis, born in Louisville, Kentucky,
on November 13, 1856, led a selfless career as a practicing lawyer helping to
create the pro bono tradition in the United States through his devotion to
public causes, becoming known as the “people’s lawyer” for challenging the
power of railroad, bank, and insurance company monopolies;
Whereas Justice Brandeis was nominated an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court by appointment of President Woodrow Wilson and
confirmed by the United States Senate in 1916 as the first Jewish Justice of
the Supreme Court;
Whereas Justice Brandeis vastly contributed to
constitutional jurisprudence, particularly in the areas of free speech, right
to privacy, labor relations, and women’s suffrage;
Whereas through the marshalling of evidence and
development of the doctrine of judicial notice, Justice Brandeis concerned
himself as a citizen, attorney, and Justice of the Supreme Court with the power
and role of education in the Nation’s democracy;
Whereas Justice Brandeis supported the University of
Louisville and its law school (named the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law in
1997) by contributing funding and his personal papers and ensuring that the law
school library received Supreme Court briefs for its archives;
Whereas Justice Brandeis provided the role model for
public service which served as the inspiration for the University of Louisville
adopting a public service requirement for all students;
Whereas Justice Brandeis resigned from the Supreme Court
70 years ago in 1939; and
Whereas, to this day, schools, universities, the United
States Postal Service, and other institutions remember the name of Justice
Brandeis and commemorate his service: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)recognizes the 70th anniversary of Justice
Louis D. Brandeis’s retirement from the United States Supreme Court and the
significant contribution he made in United States Supreme Court jurisprudence;
and
(2)directs the Clerk
of the House of Representatives to make available enrolled copies of this
resolution to the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law for
appropriate display.