[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


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       TRIBUTE TO FEDERAL JUDGE KENNETH K. HALL OF WEST VIRGINIA

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                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 14, 1999

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to, and to 
celebrate the life of Federal Judge Kenneth K. Hall of West Virginia.
  Kenneth K. Hall, who was born in Boone County, West Virginia, died at 
the age of 81 at his home in West Virginia after a 47 year 
distinguished career as a State and Federal judge. He began his service 
to our State and the Nation when he became a circuit judge in the 
county of his birth in 1952 at the age of thirty-three. He was 
appointed to his federal judge's post in 1971 by President Nixon.
  Five years later, Judge Hall was named to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court 
of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, comprised of West Virginia, Maryland, 
North Carolina and South Carolina.
  Well-known for his humor, his wisdom, his straightforward manner and 
understanding of West Virginians, he is best known for the precedent-
setting decision he made in 1995 when he wrote the majority decision 
that rejected efforts by The Citadel--a Charleston, South Carolina 
military college--to ban female cadets from attending the college.
  The man who made the decision in the case of The Citadel, was a man 
who had the courage of his convictions. He had honed his skills as a 
Federal judge early in his career in West Virginia, when he outlawed 
the State's existing abortion law and presided over a violent school 
textbook controversy (the Kanawha County Textbook case).
  He also presided over a class action lawsuit against Pittston Coal 
Company, over the tragic 1973 Buffalo Creek Flood which resulted in the 
deaths of 125 West Virginians and wiped out a small town. The lawsuit 
ended with a $13.5 million settlement for 625 plaintiffs.
  Upon learning of his death, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd said that 
``he was someone on whom I could always rely for straightforward, no-
nonsense advice . . .'' This statement has been made by the many, many 
friends he left behind and who remember him with reverence and deep 
respect.
  Before becoming a judge, Kenneth Hall served as Mayor of Madison in 
his home county of Boone, when in 1968 he ran unsuccessfully for the 
State Supreme Court--but he persevered and went on to serve as a 
hearing examiner for the Social Security Administration before his 
elevation to the federal bench.
  Judge Hall is survived by his wife, Gerry, and his son Keller. Our 
thoughts and prayers go out to them, and we keep them and all West 
Virginians in our hearts as they mourn the loss of Judge Hall's 
incisive humor, his masterful storytelling, and his deep and 
compassionate understanding of the people he loved and served so well.

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