[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E709-E710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A SALUTE TO JOHN ANDREW MARTIN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 8, 2003

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor 
for me to pay

[[Page E710]]

tribute to one of Dallas' truly outstanding citizens. As the Dallas 
Lawyers Auxiliary gathers tomorrow to give John Andrew Martin its 21st 
Justinian Award for his volunteer work, I would like to take a moment 
to reflect on the achievements of this exceptional individual.
  Mr. Martin was born and raised in segregated Birmingham, Alabama. 
From 1962 to 1964, Mr. Martin was an attorney with the Civil Rights 
Division of the United States Department of Justice where he helped 
enforce the Voting Rights Act and other civil rights laws.
  He has a broad legal practice which includes experience in hospital 
and health care law; administrative law; general business litigation, 
including appellate work.
  Mr. Martin's administrative law experience spans more than 20 years, 
and includes particular experience in utility regulation. He has been 
involved in major rate cases, certification proceedings, and show cause 
hearings before the Public Utility Commission.
  For over 20 years, he has served as general counsel to a tertiary 
care pediatric hospital and has had involvement in all aspects of its 
operation, including financing, Medicaid-Medicare issues, physician 
credentialing, medical malpractice insurance issues, equipment 
financing, and environmental issues, to name a few.
  His litigation experience is equally broad and he is certified as a 
civil trial lawyer. This experience includes securities litigation, 
general business litigation, and condemnation and eminent domain 
proceedings and will contests. He appellate practice has occurred 
before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and in 
Texas Appellate Courts.
  Throughout the years, Mr. Martin has served various civic boards 
including the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas and the Children's Medical 
Center.
  Mr. Speaker, significantly I want to honor Mr. Martin, for his 
courageous work in the U.S. vs. Cecil Price et al. The trial that 
followed was a milestone in the civil rights era. Thirty six years ago, 
a Justice Department team led by Attorney General John Doar and Mr. 
Martin prosecuted eighteen Klan conspirators, including the Sheriff and 
Deputy Sheriff of Philadelphia, Mississippi, for violating the civil 
rights of the three young civil rights workers: James Chaney, Michael 
Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. Despite facing an all-white jury and a 
segregationist judge, the legal team which Mr. Martin was part of 
succeeded in winning the first convictions ever recorded in a civil 
rights case in Mississippi.
  The film ``Mississippi Burning'' portrayed those outstanding 
Americans who have dedicated their lives to the defense of our civil 
rights. Mr. Martin and his colleagues participated in the Civil Rights 
Movement, understanding that there was a danger to their own lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join me in extending my appreciation to John Andrew Martin for over 
four decades of service to the people of Dallas, Texas and this nation. 
Congratulations, Mr. Martin and best wishes for future successes.

                          ____________________