[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2419-H2420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WILKIE D. FERGUSON, JR. UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1904) to designate the United States courthouse located 
at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida, as the ``Wilkie D. 
Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1904

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse located at 400 North Miami 
     Avenue in Miami, Florida, shall be known and designated as 
     the ``Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. 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 ``Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States 
     Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio. (Mr. LaTourette).
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1904, similar to H.R. 2538, which was introduced by 
our friend and colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), 
designates the United States Courthouse located at 400 North Miami 
Avenue in Miami, Florida as the ``Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States 
Courthouse.''
  Wilkie Ferguson was born in Miami, Florida in 1938 to Bahamian 
immigrants and raised in the Liberty Square public housing project. 
Despite being raised in an environment of discrimination and 
segregation, Wilkie Ferguson attended the then segregated Miami Public 
School System and, upon his graduation, attended Florida A&M.
  After graduating from Florida A&M with a Bachelor's Degree in 
business administration, Wilkie Ferguson entered the United States 
Army, where he served as a First Lieutenant for 3 years, and then for 
another 2 years as a Captain in the Army Reserve.
  When he left the Army, Mr. Ferguson attended and graduated from 
Howard University Law School. His legal career began with Legal 
Services of Greater Miami. He also worked as a staff attorney for the 
Miami Dade School Board of Education before entering private practice.
  In 1973, his judicial career began when he was appointed a Judge of 
Industrial Claims, and later as a Judge on the Circuit Court for the 
11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, and then the Third District 
Court of Appeals for Florida.
  In 1993, Judge Ferguson was appointed by President Clinton to serve 
on the United States District Court for the Southern District of 
Florida, a post which he held until his death.
  This is a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to helping 
the poor and the disenfranchised. I support this measure and I 
encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1904 is a bill to designate the United States 
Courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida as the 
Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse. The gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Meek) introduced the House companion bill, H.R. 2538, for 
himself, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and the 
gentlemen from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), (Mr. Mario Diaz-
Balart), (Mr. Deutsch), and (Mr. Brown).
  Judge Wilkie Ferguson, a native Floridian, was born to immigrant 
parents in 1938 and was raised in a public housing project in Miami. 
Through hard work, perseverance, and personal drive, he received 
degrees from Florida A&M University, Drexel University in Philadelphia, 
and a law degree from Howard University Law School in the District of 
Columbia.
  Judge Ferguson served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1960 until 1964 
as a Lieutenant and as a Reserve Captain from 1964 to 1968. He was 
nominated to the Federal bench by President Clinton in 1993 and was 
confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November of 1993.
  Despite his humble beginnings, Judge Ferguson achieved the highest 
levels of judicial service and was a dedicated public servant. He holds 
the distinction of being the first black jurist appointed to the Miami 
Dade Circuit Court and the Third District Court of Appeals. His 
judicial legacy includes a 1980 ruling that African Americans cannot be 
systematically excluded from a jury. His rulings also significantly 
affected the lives of many disabled individuals by prohibiting the 
State from reducing services to the disabled.
  Judge Ferguson was a prolific writer and authored many articles on 
Federal drug laws, expert witnesses, and privacy in the computer age. 
He received numerous awards and honors, including the Courage and 
Scholarship in Legal Writing Award from the National Bar Association, 
the Champions of Higher Education in Florida Award, and the Thurgood 
Marshall Achievement Award For Exceptional Scholarly Performance.
  He was a member of the American Bar Association, the National Bar 
Association, and the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Jury 
Instructions.
  Judge Ferguson was highly regarded and was liked by not only his 
peers, but also by many young colleagues. He was experienced, 
knowledgeable, and dedicated to fairness and compassion. It is most 
fitting that the courthouse in Miami be named in his honor. I support 
S. 1904 and urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H2420]]

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I would advise my friend, the gentleman 
from California, that we have no additional speakers and would reserve 
our time subject to closing.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek).
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding 
me this time. I want to also thank the chairman for his very kind 
comments about Judge Wilkie Ferguson.
  I just want to share with the House and the American people that the 
local community in Miami Dade County and within the circuit there in 
south Florida, that it is just a high honor that this House would not 
find it robbery and also the other body to name this courthouse after 
Judge Wilkie Ferguson. Many of our viewers and also Members of the 
House had an opportunity to hear my colleagues speak so eloquently 
about his past contributions to our society. Unfortunately, but some 
may say fortunately, he moved on to a higher place on June 9 of 2003.
  I think it is very, very fitting for the American people not only to 
hear of his contributions, but also for judges and those that are 
involved in our judicial system, from the Supreme Court all the way 
down to a hearing officer at the county court level, to hear the 
contributions of this great man. He stood on behalf of not only people 
financially challenged or people of color, but he stood on behalf of 
the law and what the Constitution spoke of as it relates to 
representing everyone and making sure that they have a fair share.
  In south Florida, we have a very diverse community, Mr. Speaker, and 
I must say, as it relates to Judge Ferguson and as it relates to this 
courthouse being named after him, we had unanimous support as it 
relates to individuals coming forth and saying we want to name this 
courthouse, which is in downtown Miami, one of the most outstanding 
buildings that is being erected that will be ready to open its doors in 
the fall of 2005, for those workers who are working on that courthouse, 
for those individuals that walk by every day as they walk to the county 
courthouse and also to the courthouse that is existing now, they will 
know that the American people stand behind the Wilkie Ferguson 
philosophy in making sure that everyone is represented.

                              {time}  1100

  For every judge that walks into those doors, it will remind him and 
her and, even as it relates to the magistrates, it will remind them of 
the importance of standing on behalf of all Americans and standing on 
behalf of individuals until they are proven guilty.
  It will remind those individuals, those court reporters that walk 
into that Federal courthouse of the importance of making sure that as 
they type down the words of witnesses and defendants and prosecutors 
and individuals that are trying to seek justice, families that are 
looking to be made whole through our justice system and finding some 
sort of resolution, whether it be to a civil offense or to a criminal 
offense that may take place, that Judge Wilkie Ferguson once walked 
through that area in that vicinity and that his spirit will forever 
live in the hearts and minds of those individuals that work there every 
day of their lives.
  I just want to also share with the House that it is very, very 
important that we remember the importance of the contributions of those 
individuals that came up on the rough side. Wilkie Ferguson did. His 
wife Betty Ferguson also did, who also offered her life and is still 
offering her service to our public there in the Miami-Dade Commission.
  Wilkie Ferguson spoke to individuals, ordinary individuals at his 
level. Being a Federal judge, serving and being very respected in the 
community, he spoke to the individuals that were out there clipping the 
hedges. He spoke to the individuals as it relates to getting a cup of 
coffee for people such as himself. He is the kind, and was the kind, 
and I say he is the kind because in my heart and my mind he is still 
living with us, even though he has passed on his spirit is still alive 
and well, he spoke to those individuals. He made sure that people felt 
like people.
  He represented in a way that he should. He wrote articles to our 
local paper about what should be happening in our judicial system. He 
was an advocate judge, but an advocate judge on behalf of every 
American.
  And I am so honored; I am pleased that my community came together on 
this. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their 
forward thinking in saying that this was appropriate to name this 
courthouse after him. I thank this House for coming together and making 
sure that we honor a man of great dignity and integrity on the bench 
and even before he got on the bench.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the American people for this opportunity 
to address the House.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1904, a bill to 
designate the United States Courthouse located at 400 North Miami 
Avenue, Miami, FL, as the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States 
Courthouse.
  Judge Wilkie Ferguson, a native Floridian, was born of Bahamian 
parents in Miami on May 1, 1938, and died on June 9, 2003. He was 
educated at Florida A&M University and Howard University Law School. 
Judge Ferguson served with distinction as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army 
Reserves from 1960 to 1964, and as a Reserve captain from 1964 until 
1968. He was nominated to the Federal bench by President Clinton in 
1993 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 1993.
  Rising from humble beginnings, Judge Ferguson was highly educated, 
hard working, and a dedicated public servant. In addition to his 
undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University, he also received a 
master's degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, as well as a 
law degree from Howard University in the District of Columbia.
  Judge Ferguson holds the distinction of being the first black jurist 
appointed to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court and the Third District Court 
of Appeals.
  Judge Ferguson was a prolific writer and authored many articles on 
Federal drug laws, expert witnesses, and privacy in the computer age. 
His professional work was acknowledged with many awards and honors, 
including the Williams Hastie Award, the United Way of Dade County 
Distinguished Service Award, and the South Florida Chapter of the 
American Society for Public Administration Award.
  Judge Wilkie Ferguson was well respected by his colleagues and by all 
who entered his courtroom. He was dedicated to fairness and compassion 
and served as a mentor to many younger colleagues. It is most fitting 
that the courthouse in Miami be named in his honor. I support S. 1904 
and urge its passage.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simmons). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1904.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas 
and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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