[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 20, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       HONORING JUDGE JOE FISHER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NICK LAMPSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 20, 2000

  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in great sadness to honor 
Judge Joe Fisher, who passed away yesterday, June 19th. Judge Fisher 
was a remarkable man who was committed to his community, his country, 
and above all, his family.
  Judge Fisher received his law degree from the University of Texas in 
1936 and was appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower as a U.S. District Judge 
in 1959. Following his appointment many of his rulings set legal 
precedents.
  In 1972, he ruled for the first time that manufacturers of asbestos 
that didn't warn workers of the potential dangers could be held liable 
and awarded a family $79,000 in damages. The case went all the way to 
the Supreme Court and is still the basis for law today. The first 
desegregation plan for Beaumont was drafted by Judge Fisher in 1970 
after the U.S. Justice Department ordered the integration of the South 
Park school district in Beaumont.
  Always a man who believed in equality and justice, in 1994 Judge 
Fisher struck down the Klu Klux Klan's attempt to adopt a highway as 
part of a state highway cleanup program. He was a man of great courage 
he wrote in his decision that members only applied ``as subterfuge to 
intimidate those minority residents * * * and discourage further 
desegregation.''
  After he retired from active duty in 1984, he continued to work full 
time as a senior judge and continued to hear a substantially full 
caseload up until two weeks before his death. His impact on the 
community could be felt outside the court room as well. Judge Fisher 
contributed to the Salvation Army and the YMCA.
  He was of the utmost character, and his attributes of selflessness 
and commitment to others are rare gifts that this nation was lucky to 
have. Judge Fisher was a man who served his country as a Federal Judge 
with great pride and devotion. He often thought outside the box to make 
sure that his decisions were fair and honorable.
  His work was part of the fiber of Southeast Texas, and with his 
passing a great loss will be felt in the spirit and the heart of our 
community. Today, as an American we lost a great jurist, but as a 
Congressman I have lost a mentor and a friend.

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