[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


TRIBUTE TO JUDGE JOHN R. HARVEY UPON HIS RETIREMENT FROM HIS OFFICE AS 
 CHIEF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, ATLANTIC JUDICIAL CIRCUIT ON MAY 31, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 10, 1999

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, quite simply, what separates civilized 
countries from countries which know only official corruption, abuse of 
power, and economic misery is the rule of law.
  Without respect for the rule of law, countries with stunning natural 
resource wealth, extraordinary human capital, and even formidable 
military might are nothing more than failed models.
  The Soviet Union, and now Russia, possessed all of these attributes.
  And yet the Soviet Union was never more than a declining power and a 
model from which its citizens tried to flee by the thousands.
  It was never one to which millions yearned to come to, and realize 
new and exciting possibilities.
  Although the Soviet Union is an extreme case, too little regard for 
the rule of law is the norm, and it characterizes regimes on every 
continent.
  America however, has always been different.
  Historians have spoken of American Exceptionalism since the days of 
Alexis de Tocqueville over 150 years ago, and one of the most important 
ingredients in this belief about our special, even God-given role in 
the world is our regard for the rule of law.
  Judge John Harvey, who retired from the bench as Chief Superior Court 
Judge of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit on May 31st of this year, is a 
man whose entire professional life inspires faith in the rule of law.
  A man of probity and regard for honor, Judge Harvey brought to his 
life's work a quiet determination and unceasing commitment to do right.
  We Americans believe in the basic framework of our rule of law as 
embodied in the Constitution, a document which has stood the test of 
time.
  Despite the steady erosion in the freedoms guaranteed in this 
document over the past several decades, we still revere the 
Constitution as a reflection of what we believe in as a people, what 
the relationship between the ruled and rulers should be, and what is 
right and good about the most successful experiment in democracy the 
world has ever seen.
  But the Constitution is not enough.
  A piece of paper can never alone ensure respect for the rule of law.
  It cannot protect us from encroachments on our freedom.
  And it can never forfend the inevitable tendency of rulers to abuse 
their power.
  For the rule of law to triumph, honest men and a virtuous people must 
insist that it triumph, and they must step forward and demand that 
threats to our freedom be vanquished.
  The Constitution provides us with the road map; but honest judges, 
dedicated police officers, lawyers with integrity, and ethical federal 
administrators, are the ones who must make the rule of law a reality, a 
system to which all citizens can appeal, and from which all citizens 
can receive justice.
  If even the least among us is denied justice under our system of 
laws, faith in our rule of law is undermined, and our freedoms are no 
longer safe.
  Absent people who are committed to the rule of law, citizens will not 
have faith that their grievances will be addressed, or that the law-
abiding will be protected from those who wish to do us harm.

  Judge Harvey possesses the kind of even temperament and fair-minded 
approach to every case that send a signal to plaintiffs and defendants 
alike that in this case, in this court, before this judge, the law will 
be upheld and every attempt will be made for the truth to triumph.
  Judge Harvey was a popular judge who was respected for his sharp 
legal mind and judicious demeanor.
  But he was esteemed and admired even more for his reverence for the 
law and for his integrity.
  His early success in his life as a distinguished jurist--becoming 
superior court judge at the age of 38--did nothing to lessen his 
commitment to his youthful ideals of serving as an honest lawyer in a 
noble profession.
  Indeed, his achievement merely spurred him to take his 
responsibilities even more seriously and with even greater care.
  Judge Harvey always wanted to be a lawyer.
  Some lawyers engender respect for the rule of law; others bring our 
system of laws into disrepute and cause people to lose faith in the 
very government we elect to serve us.
  Judge Harvey always dreamed of becoming a lawyer in the first 
category, a lawyer who will make the system work the way it is supposed 
to.
  America will cease to be a country where the rule of law is respected 
without people like Judge John Harvey.
  Rising before the sun and leaving the office after colleagues decades 
his junior, Judge Harvey adhered to work habits and ethical that 
touched the lives of countless individuals who are responsible for 
making sure that our Constitution is more than a piece of paper of an 
inspired origin.
  His profession, his task, is to make sure that the system works and 
to create in the citizenry a regard for the rule of law that is all too 
rare in most countries of the world.
  In that task, his efforts were singularly successful, and his 
departure from the bench is a great loss to us all.
  But the example he set for others remains, and his impact will long 
outlive his tenure as a sitting judge.
  Judge Harvey makes me proud to be an American, and it is my great 
honor to pay tribute to him today.
  Judge Harvey, thank you for your outstanding service to the United 
States of America; we will miss you.

                          ____________________