[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 99 (Monday, July 8, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7414-S7415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THOMPSON (for himself and Mr. Frist):
  S. 1931. A bill to provide that the United States Post Office 
building that is to be located at 9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, 
Tennessee, shall be known and designated as the ``L. Clure Morton Post 
Office and Courthouse''; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.


 the l. clure morton post office and courthouse designation act of 1996

 Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce a bill 
to designate the post office and courthouse in Cookeville, TN, the L. 
Clure Morton Post Office and Courthouse. I am also pleased that my 
collegue from Tennessee, Senator Bill Frist, is joining me as an 
original cosponsor.
  After graduating from the University of Tennessee's School of Law in 
1936, L. Clure Morton spent 33 years in private practice and as a 
special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 1970, 
President Richard Nixon appointed Morton a U.S. district court judge in 
Nashville, TN. Judge Morton was elevated to chief judge in 1977 and 
took senior status in 1984. Presently Judge Morton presides in the 
northeastern division and lives in Cookeville.
  Middlet Tennessee trial lawyers and judges alike comment on the 
absolute fairness, intellectual honesty, innovative sentencing, and no-
nonsense manner in which Judge Morton conducted his courtroom over the 
past 26 years. A jurist of great courage, Judge Morton handled many 
controversial constitutional issues not addressed by his predecessors. 
He dealt resolutely with the issue of school integration in Nashville 
and reforms in Tennessee's prison, welfare, and mental health systems.
  The city council of Cookeville, TN, recently passed a resolution to 
recommend this name change of the U.S. post office and courthouse to 
honor Judge Morton. The resolution reads as follows:

       ``A resolution to (recommend to the United States Senate) 
     rename the United States Post Office and Courthouse Building, 
     9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee, as the L. Clure 
     Morton Federal Building, to honor Judge L. Clure Morton on 
     the occasion of his retirement.
       ``Whereas, the Honorable L. Clure Morton has announced his 
     intention to leave active service as a United States judge 
     for the Middle District of Tennessee, and retires to 
     Knoxville; and
       ``Whereas, Judge Morton was appointed United States 
     District Judge by President Richard Nixon in 1970, and has 
     performed his duties with the utmost dedication and integrity 
     for over 25 years; and
       ``Whereas, he has handled the entire Northeastern Division 
     docket in Cookeville since 1970, and has presided exclusively 
     in Cookeville, Tennessee since 1984; and
       ``Whereas, Judge Morton has ruled from the bench without 
     passion or prejudice, seeking only to uphold the Constitution 
     and the laws of the United States; and
       ``Whereas, Judge Morton is widely respected and admired by 
     his peers and associates in the legal profession and by 
     members of this community; and
       ``Whereas, this Council desires to recognize the 
     outstanding and lasting contributions made by Judge Morton to 
     the legal profession in middle Tennessee; and
       ``Whereas, Judge Morton's chambers and courtroom are 
     located in the United States Courthouse and Post Office 
     Building, 9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee. Now, 
     therefore, be it
       ``Resolved by the Cookeville City Council, That we 
     recommend that the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Building, 
     9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee, which has housed 
     an esteemed member of the judiciary and an outstanding public 
     servant for over a quarter of a century, be renamed the L. 
     Clure Morton Federal Building, in recognition for his 
     significant contributions as a United States District Judge 
     for the Middle District of Tennessee.''

  Middle Tennessee is a safer, fairer place because Judge Morton served 
on the bench. This legislation is an appropriate tribute to a man who 
so positively touched so many middle Tennesseeans.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill we introduce 
today be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

[[Page S7415]]

                                S. 1931

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF L. CLURE MORTON POST OFFICE AND 
                   COURTHOUSE.

       The United States Post Office building that is to be 
     located 9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee, shall be 
     known and designated as the ``L. Clure Morton Post Office and 
     Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2 REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     Post Office building referred to in section 1 shall be deemed 
     to be a reference to the ``L. Clure Morton Post Office and 
     Courthouse''. 
                                 ______