[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 9, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H6435-H6436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO RICHARD BRANDITZ IGLEHART
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise here on the floor of the United States
House of Representatives in the Capital of this country to pay tribute
to one of California's most beloved public servants: Alameda County
Superior Court Judge Richard B. Iglehart, who passed away in Istanbul
on July 2 while attending a State Department-sponsored conference. He
was just 60 years old. He was a friend, a brother, a colleague, and he
leaves behind so many wonderful people. He is survived by his beloved
wife Judith Iglehart; his son, Matthew Iglehart; his stepsons,
Christopher and Scott; his sister Barbara; his brother-in-law Hans;
Alan Iglehart, a brother; six nephews and nieces, aunts and cousins,
and his former wife, Dee Iglehart.
I met Dick in Santa Clara Law School. Before that, he had gone to
Piedmont High School and UC Berkeley where he was a Beta and played
rugby. He served in the Army in Germany as an officer in the 3rd
Armored Cavalry. After graduating, he went to Santa Clara Law School
where I met him.
{time} 1945
He ended up being a career prosecutor who became the chief assistant
district attorney in Alameda and also in San Franciso Counties. He
became the chief assistant for the criminal division in the California
attorney general's office under Attorney General John van de Camp. Dick
also served as the counsel to the Assembly Public Safety Committee. He
was a California district attorneys association lobbyist and was an
Assembly Fellow.
He worked unceasingly to rid California and the Nation of assault
weapons. He was instrumental in helping pass legislation lowering the
penalties on marijuana possession. He changed the laws, making it
easier for child sexual assault victims to testify in court. He was an
expert on sentencing procedures, the California three strikes laws,
Proposition 36, and serial killers, and an early champion for using DNA
as a testing in criminal trials.
He taught at Hastings, and he also gave courses for continuing
education of the bar. He lectured at the FBI Academy, Berkley Center
for Study of Law and Society, and he often spoke at the local high
schools.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee),
who is in the district that Dick is from so she can also pay tribute.
While she is coming to the microphone, I will say that while we are
here on the floor there is a memorial service in her district at
Piedmont at the Piedmont Community Church.
Ms. LEE. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and just say
tonight that I join with the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) and
all of our colleagues in remembering and celebrating the life of a
great human being, a giant, a constituent, my friend, Richard Iglehart.
While serving as a member of the Assembly Public Safety Committee in
the California legislature, I had the real privilege of working very
closely with Dick when he was chief counsel to the committee. And I
came to rely on his thoughtfulness, his fairness and his wisdom. When
working with Dick, I was always deeply impressed with his ability to do
simple things simple and he always did what he said he would do.
Dick's passionate and unshakable belief in our system of justice
provided the foundation for everything that he accomplished in his
legal career. His vast knowledge of the law and our government earned
him the respect of defenders and prosecutors, liberals and
conservatives, Democrats and Republicans. Dick met people where they
were and brought them along. He took the time to help them see things
from a different perspective or to shed light on a complicated subject.
He was a true mentor, and it was my great and very good fortune to have
been really one of his students. I will miss his kind words of
encouragement and support.
One could not know Dick without knowing of his love and his devotion
to his wife, Judy, and his family. He was a good friend to so many of
us. Words cannot express my sympathy and sorrow at his untimely death.
Let us
[[Page H6436]]
honor and celebrate Dick's legacy by rededicating ourselves to the
ideals and the values that he championed. My thoughts and prayers are
with the Iglehart family this evening as the memorial service is taking
place at this very moment.
He will always hold a special place in my heart and in the heart of
many.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much. We would
like to say to the family, we love you, Dick. We will see you around
and give a hug to our friends in heaven, and we will keep the torch
burning.
Christine Pelosi said Dick taught us to put a human face on the
criminal justice system for terrified and traumatized victims and
witnesses, while understanding that today's defendants could well be
yesterday's or tomorrow's victims. Dick had the legal acumen, rock-
solid integrity, and sense of humor that helped us address those sad
realities, and to manage the pressure to succeed as prosecutors and
grow as legal professionals. But Dick was more than just a boss ``he
was a great big bear of a man who always stuck up for us young
prosecutors, particularly the women, when judges of opponents tried to
rough us up. Having his confidence in us made us all the more able to
successfully prosecute the tough cases.''
Attorney Michael Weiss said: ``He asked me if I had ever thought
about being a prosecutor. I told him that I had briefly entertained the
idea. He told me that he had spent nearly his entire career in law as a
prosecutor and that he couldn't remember a day when he didn't look
forward to going to work.'' ``My days working for Dick were some of my
best. And to this day, his words continued to inspire me: to find a
quality in my work that makes it something I look forward to,
everyday.''
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