[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 41 (Monday, April 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself and Mr. Hutchinson):
  S. 2128. A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 
600 West Capitol Avenue in Little Rock, Arkansas, as the ``Richard S. 
Arnold United States Courthouse''; to the Committee on Environmental 
and Public Works.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, I am pleased to introduce legislation 
today with my colleague from Arkansas, Senator Hutchinson, to name the 
Federal courthouse in Little Rock after the Honorable Richard S. 
Arnold, a beloved Federal judge from our home state. Our legislation 
has strong support from members of the Federal judiciary in Arkansas 
and I am honored to help lead this effort in the Senate. Like so many 
Arkansans who have the good fortune to know Judge Arnold personally, I 
believe it is appropriate to recognize such a respected scholar and 
member of the legal community in this manner.
  Judge Richard Arnold has served his country and the judiciary with 
rare distinction first at the District Court level and more recently as 
Chief Judge for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Arnold was 
appointed by President Carter in October 1978 to the District Bench for 
the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and was elevated to the 
Court of Appeals in 1980. Judge Arnold took senior status in April, 
2001 after he turned 65.
  While serving as a member of the Federal judiciary, Judge Arnold has 
earned a national reputation as a brilliant, fair and effective judge. 
In 1999, Judge Arnold was the winner of the highly prestigious Edward 
J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. This honor is 
presented annually to a Federal judge who has achieved an exemplary 
career and has made significant contributions to the administration of 
justice, the advancement of the rule of law, and the improvement of 
society as a whole.
  Judge Arnold has also received the prestigious Meador-Rosenberg Award 
from the American Bar Association for his work and dialogue with 
members of Congress about the problems facing the Federal courts during 
his service as Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Judicial 
Conference of the United States. The award, which has only been 
presented three times since its inception in 1994, was presented 
through the ABA's Standing Committee on Federal Judicial Improvements.
  Judge Arnold received a Classical Diploma from Phillips Exeter 
Academy in 1953. He graduated from Yale with a B.A., summa cum laude, 
in 1957. Afterwards, Judge Arnold attended the Harvard Law School where 
he received the Sears Prize for achieving the best grades in the first-
year class and the Fay Diploma for being first academically in his 
graduating class. Judge Arnold concluded his formal education upon 
receiving his LL.B. from Harvard magna cum laude in 1960.
  After law school, Judge Arnold served as a law clerk to Justice 
William J. Brennan, Jr. Arnold then practiced law in Washington, D.C., 
and Texarkana, Arkansas. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge 
Arnold worked for the Honorable Dale Bumpers while Bumpers was Governor 
of Arkansas and a United States Senator.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of this legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2128

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF RICHARD S. ARNOLD UNITED STATES 
                   COURTHOUSE.

       The United States courthouse located at 600 West Capitol 
     Avenue in Little Rock, Arkansas, and any addition to the 
     courthouse that may hereafter be constructed, shall be known 
     and designated as the ``Richard S. Arnold United States 
     Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the Richard S. Arnold United States Courthouse.

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Madam President, throughout a long career on the 
Federal bench, Judge Richard Sheppard Arnold has exhibited tremendous 
integrity and commitment to public service. I am honored to join my 
colleague from Arkansas in introducing legislation to designate the 
Federal Courthouse in Little Rock, Arkansas, as the Judge Richard S. 
Arnold United States Courthouse.
  Finishing toward the top of his class both at Yale College and at 
Harvard Law School, Judge Arnold began his legal career as a Law Clerk 
to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. In October of 1978, President Carter appointed him to the 
District Bench for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, and 
he was soon elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Eighth Circuit in 1980. There he served as Chief Judge from 1992 
through 1998. Since April of 2001, Judge Arnold has served as Senior 
U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eight Circuit.
  For the duration of his service on the bench, Judge Arnold has 
maintained a reputation as a true gentleman who possesses a keen 
intellect. Perhaps the finest measure of a man, however, is found in 
his friends. Judge Arnold has many. It was the entire bench of the 
Eastern District of Arkansas that came up with the proposal to name the 
courthouse in his honor, and nearly every day my mail includes a letter 
from a Judge in Arkansas championing this designation. Such unqualified 
support at the end of a long career is truly remarkable.
  Judge Arnold has certainly earned the honor this legislation would 
bestow. I hope my colleagues will join us in supporting the designation 
of the Little Rock, Arkansas, Federal Court House as the Judge Richard 
S. Arnold United States Courthouse.
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