[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 155 (Saturday, December 19, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




JUDGE A. LEON HIGGINBOTHAM: CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLAR DIES WITH HIS BOOTS 
                                   ON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 18, 1998

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I was greatly saddened to hear of the loss 
of Judge Leon Higginbotham this week. He was a great civil rights 
champion who died with his boots on, for just two weeks ago I had the 
honor of introducing him to the Judiciary Committee impeachment 
hearings, where he protested the current impeachment process in his 
last major appearance. Judge Higginbotham's death on December 14th was 
a loss not just for his wife Evelyn and his children, but for every 
American.
  Leon Higginbotham was in every way a giant. His contribution to the 
law as a peerless judge and superb educator was immense. His large 
personality and his passionate love of justice made him a colossus of 
the civil rights movement. The attentive silence which marked his 
impeccably coherent and flawlessly logical testimony just 2 weeks ago 
to the Judiciary Committee reminded the nation's lawmakers, and the 
people, of the brilliance possessed by this giant of a man.
  Leon Higginbotham's achievements have served as an inspiration to 
Americans of all ages. His brilliant record as a civil rights attorney 
led to his becoming a federal judge in 1964. His performance as one of 
the United States' most consistent and fair judges led to his being 
appointed to the US Circuit Court of appeals fourteen years later. In 
1995 he was recognized by President Bill Clinton with the award of the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom. His authority and standing led South 
African President Nelson Mandela to seek his expertise and impartiality 
as a mediator in the landmark 1994 elections. Leon Higginbotham belongs 
to that group of exceptional people which any nation is proud to call 
its own.
  His outspoken courage, and his passionate opposition to racism was 
clearly reinforced at the hearings two weeks ago. His clear 
condemnation of the damage that discrimination and disregard for 
individual civil rights does to the justice system made his magnum opus 
``Race and the American Legal System'' one of the most important and 
influential legal texts in the lifetime of this Republic.
  I join every American in mourning the passing of Leon Higginbotham 
and in saluting his living legacy. His compassion and his respect for 
the individual combined with his unrivalled knowledge and love of the 
law to making a person I am proud to say I knew. My sympathy and that 
of my family goes out to his family, whose loss we all share.

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