[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              A TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE THOMAS D. LAMBROS

                                 ______


                      HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 30, 1995
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to the 
Honorable Thomas D. Lambros upon his retirement. Chief Judge Lambros 
was born to parents Demetrios and Panagoula Lambros in Ashtabula, OH, 
on February 4, 1930. Chief Judge Lambros was the youngest of five 
brothers. He graduated from Ashtabula High School in 1948, and received 
his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall Law School in 1952. He was 
admitted to the practice of law that same year at the age of 22.
  Chief Judge Lambros' illustrious career started in 1960, when he was 
elected to his first judgeship. From 1960 through 1967, Chief Judge 
Lambros served on the Court of Common Pleas for the State of Ohio, 
Ashtabula County. In 1966, Judge Lambros was reelected without 
opposition. As a common pleas judge, Judge Lambros established a 
voluntary public defender program to provide free counsel to indigent 
criminal defendants. The establishment of this innovative program 
preceded the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon versus 
Wainwright, which held that the Constitution guarantees free counsel to 
indigent defendants.
  Also as a common pleas judge, Chief Judge Lambros instituted 
mandatory domestic relations conciliation programs. This program 
established a 3-month cooling-off period before formal divorce 
proceedings would take place. Through the passage of time and the 
efforts of skilled social workers, this program saved many marriages 
and served to adjust family relationships.
  On June 3, 1967, Chief Judge Lambros, at the age of 37, was nominated 
United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio by 
President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Confirmation by the Senate took place 
on August 18, 1967, and Judge Lambros took office on August 28, 1967. 
On January 16, 1990, he became Chief Judge of the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
  While serving as a Federal judge, Chief Judge Lambros has had 
numerous judicial accomplishments. One very successful achievement was 
founding the ``summary jury trial.'' This innovative judicial procedure 
is an effective method of resolving cases by promoting settlement, thus 
avoiding lengthy and expensive court trials. The summary jury trial is 
a short jury trial which helps to settle cases on the basis of a jury's 
advisory opinion. The procedures has received widespread acceptance in 
both Federal and State courts throughout the country.
  The policymaking arm of the Federal judiciary, the Judicial 
Conference of the United States, in 1984 adopted a resolution endorsing 
the use of the summary jury trial in Federal courts nationwide. In 
1983, 1984, and 1985, Chief Judge Lambros was commended by the Chief 
Justice of the United States, the Honorable Warren E. Burger, in the 
``Year End Reports on the Judiciary,'' for developing the summary jury 
trial process. These reports represent the Chief Justice's perspective 
on the most important developments in the judiciary and on its current 
and future needs. Chief Judge Lambros' invention, the summary jury 
trial, received formal statutory recognition by the U.S. Congress in 
the Judicial Reform Act of 1990. By this legislative enactment, Federal 
judges are now authorized to utilize the summary jury trials throughout 
the Nation.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to personally recognize Thomas 
Lambros, both as a wise and compassionate officer of the court who has 
made an enormously positive impression on our justice system, and as a 
personal friend. His selfless dedication to both his community and his 
family is commended. May God bless Thomas with health, happiness, and 
continued success in his retirement. All friends of justice will surely 
miss him.


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