[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11567-H11568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BOOTLE FEDERAL BUILDING AND U.S. COURTHOUSE

  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate 
consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 4119) to designate the 
Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 475 Mulberry Street in 
Macon, GA, as the ``William Augustus Bootle Federal Building and U.S. 
Courthouse.''
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I yield to 
the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest] for an explanation of the 
legislation.
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4119 is a bill which would designate the U.S. 
courthouse in Macon, GA as the William Augustus Bootle Federal Building 
and U.S. Courthouse.
  He was appointed to the U.S. district court by President Dwight D. 
Eisenhower on May 20, 1954. Judge Bootle presided as district judge and 
acted as chief judge handling all six divisions of the court in six 
different courthouses, in 71 counties of Georgia.
  In his time on the bench, Judge Bootle was highly regarded by lawyers 
throughout the district for his keen intellect and warm sense of humor, 
he is, perhaps, most widely recognized for his decision in 1961 
ordering the admittance of two African-American students to the 
University of Georgia. This decision led to the desegregation of 
Georgia's public school system.
  The naming of a courthouse in Judge Bootle's honor is a fitting 
tribute to a distinguished jurist. I support this bill and urge my 
colleagues' support.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], the distinguished 
ranking member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  (Mr. OBERSTAR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support for H.R. 4119, a bill to 
designate the Federal building and United States Courthouse in Macon, 
GA, as the William Augustus Bootle Federal Building and United States 
Courthouse.
  Judge Bootle has been serving the citizens of Georgia since 1928 when 
he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of 
Georgia.
  He has been very active in the community, serving for many years as a 
Trustee for Mercer University. Judge Bootle is known for his fairness 
and judicial scholarship. This bill deserves our support and I urge its 
adoption.

[[Page H11568]]

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the distinguished author of the bill, the gentleman from 
Georgia [Mr. Chambliss].
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate both my colleagues from Ohio 
and Maryland for moving this bill along as quickly as they did.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4119. Judge William 
Augustus Bootle was born in Walterboro, SC, on August 19, 1902. He is a 
graduate of Mercer University undergraduate school, as well as Mercer 
University Law School. Mercer University is located in Macon, GA, and 
happens to be the university where my son, Bo, is currently in his 
second year of undergraduate work.
  Judge Bootle is married to the former Virginia Childs. They have 
three children, Dr. William Augustus Bootle, Jr., Dr. James C. Bootle, 
and Mrs. Ann B. Hall.
  Judge Bootle was admitted to the bar of the State of Georgia in 1925. 
He was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney to the Middle District of 
Georgia and served from 1928 to 1929. He was appointed U.S. Attorney 
for the Middle District of Georgia and served from 1929 until 1933. He 
then entered the active practice of law in Macon, GA.
  As the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest] said, in 1954, which 
happened to be 16 days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding 
the desegregation of public schools in this country, Judge Bootle was 
appointed to the bench as the Judge for the Middle District of Georgia.

  I asked a couple of Judge Bootle's friends to tell me a little bit 
about him and make a couple of comments regarding the naming of this 
courthouse after Judge Bootle, and the Honorable Duross Fitzpatrick, 
who is currently United States District Judge for the Middle District 
of Georgia, and Mr. Manley Brown, who is a mutual friend practicing law 
in Macon, GA, sent me these comments.
  They said when Judge Bootle was appointed to the court in 1954, the 
chief Judge was ill and remained so for an extended period of time, and 
therefore, until 1962, when another Judge was subsequently appointed, 
Judge Bootle handled all six divisions of the Middle District of 
Georgia. That included the Athens Division, the Macon Division, the 
Columbus Division, the Americus Division, the Albany Division, and the 
Valdosta Division. Those six courthouses covered 71 counties in 
Georgia.
  They say he is a very modest man, who has always shunned publicity 
and who always said ``I didn't do anything but what I was paid to do.''
  Judge Fitzpatrick and Manley Brown refer to Judge Bootle as a 
lawyer's lawyer and a judge's judge. He was highly respected by lawyers 
throughout the district for his keen intellect, wonderful sense of 
humor, and utter fairness. He had no favorites at the bar.
  In 1935 he argued and won a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is 
a great story teller, who naturally attracts all those around him. He 
is a very optimistic person and an avid skeet shooter for most of his 
life.
  He developed a cataract in his right eye in the late eighties, and he 
had an operation on that eye, so it forced him to learn to shoot left 
handed. On this 90th birthday, Judge Bootle went out and shot skeet, 
and hit 25 out of 25 clay pigeons.
  Two very important decisions that Judge Bootle made that made his 
mark in history occurred in Athens, GA. He presided at a trial in 
Athens in 1964 of several members of the Ku Klux Klan who were 
convicted of following a black Army colonel through town and shooting 
him point blank as he crossed over the Broad River Bridge in a rural 
area. This was a high profile case and Judge Bootle was given high 
marks for the manner in which he handled it.

  I quote from a book titled ``Atlanta Rising'' which deals with a lot 
of history that took place in the Atlanta area during the years of the 
civil rights era.
  There were two black applicants to the University of Georgia, 
Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, who were denied admittance. They 
filed suit in the Middle District of Georgia, and, quoting from this 
book, I read as follows:

       Two black applicants, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, 
     went to the court attacking the welter of excuses University 
     of officials had concocted to keep them out. The two made a 
     convincing case that the only reason they had been denied 
     admission was segregation, pure and simple. In a ruling 
     issued late on the afternoon of Friday, January 6, 1961, 
     Judge William A. Bootle ordered Hunter and Holmes admitted to 
     the school, not in 6 months or a year, but bright and early 
     the next Monday morning.

  I also called my good friend and former law partner, Lamar Moore, a 
very distinguished lawyer in Moultrie, GA, and told him we were doing 
this, and I said, ``Give me a comment about Judge Bootle,''
  Lamar said:

       Judge Gus Bootle refereed a lot of battles between my 
     clients and the government, mainly the Treasury and the Labor 
     Departments, and I found his calls to be good and all 
     penalties just, particularly those against the Government. 
     Trying a case before Judge Bootle was always a pleasure, and 
     I had been amazed how he recalls the details of amusing 
     incidents after so many years. Put him back on the bench.

  Judge Bootle loved the law and legal profession. I would like to 
quote from a speech which Judge Bootle gave in April of 1995, which I 
think sums up his philosophy very well.

       As I see it, everything that is well organized is 
     beautiful. Everything that functions well is beautiful. All 
     harmony and proportion are beautiful, and so is every success 
     and pursuit of a noble objective. By these exacting 
     standards, law qualifies.

  Judge Bootle, I commend you on the many years of public service you 
gave to this country, and Mr. Speaker, it is very appropriate that we 
honor Judge Bootle in this way. I ask my colleagues to support the 
passage of this bill.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, Judge Bootle has served as a mentor for 
many junior colleagues and associates. He is well-known for his 
scholarly approach and courtly demeanor. It is fitting and proper to 
honor the career and contributions of Judge Bootle by this designation.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 4119

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building and United States courthouse located 
     at 475 Mulberry Street in Macon, Georgia, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``William Augustus Bootle Federal Building 
     and United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document paper, or 
     the record of the United States to the Federal building and 
     United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be 
     deemed to be a reference to the ``William Augustus Bootle 
     Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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