[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 10, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   JOHN MINOR WISDOM U.S. COURTHOUSE

  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 2868), to designate the Federal 
building located at 600 Camp Street in New Orleans, LA, as the ``John 
Minor Wisdom United States Courthouse.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Page 1, line 6, strike out ``Courthouse'' and insert 
     ``Court of Appeals Building''.
       Page 2, line 6, strike out ``Courthouse'' and insert 
     ``Court of Appeals Building''.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to designate the 
     Federal building located at 600 Camp Street in New Orleans, 
     Louisiana, as the `John Minor Wisdom United States Court of 
     Appeals Building', and for other purposes.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Kennelly). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Mineta] will be recognized for 20 
minutes, and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Petri] will be 
recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California [Mr. Mineta].
  Mr. MINETA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate-passed version of H.R. 
2868, a bill to designate a Federal building located at 600 Camp Street 
in New Orleans, Louisiana as the ``John Minor Wisdom United States 
Court of Appeals Building.'' Mr. Speaker, this bill is virtually the 
same bill that passed the House on November 15, 1993, with a technical 
change by the Senate regarding the designation of the courthouse.
  Mr. Speaker, John Minor Wisdom was born in New Orleans, LA, on May 
17, 1905. He graduated from Tulane Law School and was admitted to the 
Louisiana bar in 1929. He practiced law at a firm for 28 years. From 
1942 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel.
  In 1957, he was nominated for appointment to the Fifth Circuit of the 
U.S. Court of Appeals by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and in 1977 
received senior status.
  Judge Wisdom is well know as an advocate for civil rights. He is 
credited with distinguished opinions in a number of landmark cases 
dealing with desegregation and discrimination, such as the case of the 
United States versus Jefferson County Board of Education, which used 
affirmative action to desegregate schools. In the case of United 
Papermakers versus United States, Judge Wisdom wrote the ``rightful 
place'' theory which prohibited the awarding of future jobs based on a 
seniority system which locked in race discrimination.
  Currently, Judge Wisdom still presides as senior judge at the Fifth 
Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals and the presiding judge of the special 
court for the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate to honor this great American jurist, 
by designating the Federal Building located at 600 Camp Street in New 
Orleans, LA, as the ``John Minor Wisdom United States Court of Appeals 
Building.''
  Finally, Judge Wisdom will be 89 years old on May 17 and this would 
be a fitting birthday tribute.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the distinguished gentleman from 
Louisiana [Mr. Jefferson] for introducing this important piece of 
legislation, and the subcommittee for moving the bill expeditiously.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote on concurring in the Senate 
amendment.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, we are about to complete final passage of a splendid 
tribute to one of this country's most distinguished judges, John Minor 
Wisdom, who will celebrate the beginning of his 90th year next Tuesday, 
May 17.
  The designation of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 
New Orleans as the ``John Minor Wisdom United States Court of Appeals 
Building'' will serve as a continuing reminder of the extraordinary 
contribution John Minor Wisdom has made to this court and the U.S. 
legal system in his 65 years as lawyer and judge.
  We noted on initial passage of this legislation the great debt that 
we owe to Judge Wisdom for his 37 years of service on the fifth 
circuit. Our legal system has been enriched by his participation in the 
judicial process. Through his love of liberty and his country, he has 
demonstrated a high morality to his fellow citizens.
  Judge Wisdom has helped set a remarkable standard for the American 
judiciary that will be an inspiration for the generations ahead. He has 
become well known for the ``Wisdom opinion'' which seeks to place 
almost every case--whatever its significance--in its broad legal and 
historical context.
  His respect for history has made every Wisdom opinion part of a 
continuing series of lessons in American history--and I should say the 
history of his beloved State of Louisiana and the other States in the 
fifth circuit--over the years.
  I have known Judge Wisdom personally for nearly 30 years and have 
often said that no judge better deserved his name--``Wisdom.'' When I 
first visited the judge, his wonderful wife, Bonnie, and their three 
children in New Orleans in 1966, he had already established a 
reputation, together with several of his fifth circuit colleagues, as a 
leading protector of the Constitution and congressional will in the 
implementation of voting rights, school desegregation, and access to 
public accommodations throughout the South.
  As we said last fall, the naming of the first circuit courthouse in 
honor of Judge Wisdom will not just recall the name of one of this 
country's most distinguished citizens, it will also serve as a constant 
reminder for generations to come of that extraordinary body of wisdom--
well over 1,000 carefully crafted opinions--produced by one of our 
country's greatest minds and moral forces.
  I am honored to participate in the passage of legislation that 
authorizes this action.

                              {time}  1240

  Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston].
  (Mr. LIVINGSTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of 
H.R. 2868, a bill to name the U.S. Court of Appeals building in New 
Orleans, after Judge John Minor Wisdom.
  Judge Wisdom, a native and resident of New Orleans, is married to the 
lovely Bonnie Stewart Mathews, and they have three children, John, Jr., 
Kathleen Scribner, and Penelope Tose. Although he took senior status on 
the court in 1977, he is still very active, and throughout his career, 
he has served America as an outstanding jurist.

             [From the Congressional Record, Nov. 15, 1993]

                        John Minor Wisdom--Vita

       John Wisdom received his A.B. in 1925 from Washington & Lee 
     University and his LL.B. in 1929 from Tulane Law School. He 
     practiced law in New Orleans from 1929 to 1967. From 1968 to 
     1967 he also taught law at Tulane. During World War II he 
     served in the Army Air Force and attained the rank of 
     Lieutenant Colonel. From 1964 to to 1967 he was a member of 
     the President's Commission on [Anti-Discrimination in] 
     Government Contracts.
       Judge Wisdom has served as a member of the Judicial Panel 
     on Multi-District Litigation (1966-79), and as the panel's 
     chairman (1975-79). He has served on the Advisory Committee 
     on Appellate Rules and on the Special Court organized under 
     the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973. He has been a 
     member of the American Law Institute for over forty years, 
     and is a member (emeritus) of the council.
       Honorary degrees include LL.D.s from Oberlin College 
     (1963); Tulane University (1976); San Diego University 
     (1979); Haverford College (1982); Middlebury College (1987); 
     Harvard University (1987) . He received the first Louisiana 
     Bar Foundation Distinguished Jurist Award (1986) and the 
     Tulane Distinguished Alumnus Award (1989).
       In his thirty-one years on the bench he has participated in 
     the decisions of more than 4,600 cases, signed over 960 
     published majority opinions and written unnumbered per 
     curiams and unpublished opinions. In addition, he has written 
     stirring dissents which have persuaded the Supreme Court to 
     grant writs and to reverse.
       Judge Wisdom's opinions create an intellectual structure 
     for the law, and speak to the deepest issues with learning, 
     eloquence, technical virtuosity and passion. Ambitious in 
     length and scope, impressive in the compilation of 
     authorities, deft in wit and imagery, his opinions have often 
     been the source of ideas--even language--for United States 
     Supreme Court opinions.
       Many of his opinions helped to define civil rights law 
     across the United States.
       United States v. Louisiana (1965) which approved the 
     freezing principle suspending state voters' registration law; 
     and affirmed the duty of federal courts to protect federally 
     created or federally guaranteed rights.
       United States v. Jefferson County Board of Education (1967) 
     which was the landmark case using affirmative action to 
     desegregate schools ``lock, stock, and barrel.''
       Meredith v. Fair (1962) which desegregated the University 
     of Mississippi.
       United States v. City of Jackson (1963) which desegregated 
     bus and railroad terminals in Jackson, Mississippi.
       Dombrouski v. Pfister (1965) where the Supreme Court upheld 
     his dissent which would enjoin the State of Louisiana from 
     using the legislature and judiciary to harass civil rights 
     leaders by unwarranted prosecution.
       Local 189, United Papermakers and Paperworkers v. United 
     States (1976) which was the landmark case that adopted the 
     ``rightful place'' theory and that prohibited awarding jobs 
     based on a seniority system with locked-in race 
     discrimination.
       Judge Wisdom's expertise is not relegated only to civil 
     rights and the judicial system. He has also written landmark 
     opinions in such fields as admiralty, evidence, labor law, 
     antitrust, and the Louisiana Civil Code.
       Two decades ago Times Magazine said of him:
       He is equally at home in archaeology, Greek tragedy and 
     Louisiana civil law . . . (He) is one of the best (and most 
     painstaking) opinion writers on any U.S. bench.
       In the midst of his astounding workload, Judge Wisdom found 
     time to show an interest in the people that worked for him. 
     Charles S. Treat echoes the sentiment of many who nominated 
     Judge Wisdom:
       On a personal level, Judge Wisdom is the epitome of a 
     Southern gentleman. He is a surrogate grandfather to my 
     generation of clerks, taking a genuine and continuing 
     interest in the lives, families, and careers of his judicial 
     family. His extensive list of former clerks is virtually a 
     nationwide legal fraternity, drawn together by our mutual and 
     deep respect for the Judge and love for the man.

  Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MINETA. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Kennelly). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from California [Mr. Mineta] that the 
House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the 
bill, H.R. 2868.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended, and the Senate amendments were 
concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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