[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 38 (Tuesday, April 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  TRIBUTE TO JUDGE MEREDITH C. TAYLOR

                                 ______


                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 1994

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Los Angeles 
Superior Court Judge Meredith C. Taylor, who on April 7 received the 
1994 Judge of the Year Award by the San Fernando Valley Bar 
Association. Judge Taylor is the first woman to ever receive this 
prestigious honor.
  Judge Taylor is an inspiration to any person--man or woman--
determined to pursue their dreams. She got married soon after 
graduating from high school, worked to put her husband through school, 
and had children. It seemed at the time as if she were destined for a 
career in the home.
  But Judge Taylor, in fact, had other ideas. With the active 
encouragement of her husband, Richard, she started taking classes at 
California State University, Northridge, in her spare time. After 8 
years, she received her degree. From there she went immediately into 
law school. This was one wife and mother on the fast track.
  By 1975 Judge Taylor had passed the bar. Her first job was with the 
Small Business Administration; from there she went into private 
practice. In 1984 she became president of California Women Lawyers, 
which lobbies the Governor for more appointments of women. George 
Deukmejian, Governor at the time, got the message. On July 11, 1985, he 
appointed Meredith Taylor to the Los Angeles Municipal Court.
  In May 1987, she joined the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she 
hears cases of child abuse and neglect in dependency court. Her busy 
professional life includes involvement with a number of organizations 
and associations. Among these are the Federal Bar Association and the 
National Association of Women Judges.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Superior Court Judge 
Meredith Taylor, a woman of boundless energy and intelligence. I am 
also proud to note that she graduated from my alma mater, Hamilton High 
School in Los Angeles.

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