[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 21 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  BILL TO NAME FEDERAL COURTHOUSE ANNEX AFTER JUDGE WILLIAM B. BRYANT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 1, 2005

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, this bill has an unusual origin. The Chief 
Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for 
himself and the members of the trial court, visited my office to 
request that the annex under construction for the E. Barrett Prettyman 
Federal Building be named for senior U.S. District Court Judge William 
B. Bryant. Judge Bryant was unaware of the desires and actions of his 
colleagues, who unanimously agreed to request that the annex be named 
for the judge. It is rare that Congress names a courthouse or an annex 
for a judge who has served in that court and even more rare for a judge 
who is still sitting. However, I am grateful that the House understood 
the unique importance of Judge Bryant and passed the bill last year. 
Unfortunately, the bill was stopped in committee in the Senate because 
of the reluctance to name a building for a seated judge. However, 
because Judge Bryant richly and uniquely deserves this honor, I have 
added a section declaring the effective date to be when the judge no 
longer holds the position. We must pursue this compromise to get the 
bill through the Senate. We will celebrate this remarkable historic 
judge and invite him to witness the honor when the bill passes.
  Judge Bryant's colleagues, who know his work and his temperament 
best, have found a particularly appropriate way for our city and our 
country to celebrate the life and accomplishments of a great judge. I 
know Judge Bryant personally, I know his reputation in this city, and 
in the law profession. I know that the request to name the annex for 
Judge Bryant reflects deep respect for his unusually distinguished life 
at the bar.
  Judge Bryant began his career in private practice in the segregated 
Washington of the 1940s and 50s, when African American lawyers were 
barred from membership in the District of Columbia Bar Association and 
from using the bar law library. He established his legal reputation as 
a partner in the legendary African-American law firm of Houston, Bryant 
and Gardner and taught at Howard University Law School. His reputation 
as an extraordinary trial lawyer led to his appointment as the first 
black assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He rose to 
become the first African American to serve as Chief Judge of the U.S. 
District Court whose members now ask that the annex be named for Judge 
Bryant.
  Particularly for his representation of criminal defendants, Judge 
Bryant was admired as one of the city's best and most respected 
lawyers. Among his many notable cases is the landmark Mallory v. United 
States, 354 U.S. 449 (1957), where the Supreme Court ruled that an 
arrested person must be promptly brought before a judicial officer.
  Judge Bryant graduated from D.C. public schools, Howard University 
and Howard Law School, where he was first in his class. After 
graduation, Judge Bryant served as chief research assistant to Dr. 
Ralphe Bunche when Bunche worked with Gunnar Myrdal, the famous Swedish 
economist, in his studies of American racial issues. Judge Bryant 
served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was honorably 
discharged as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1947. Judge Bryant, who is 93, 
took senior status in 1982. He raised a family but, as Chief Judge 
Thomas Hogan wrote, ``lost his beloved wife, Astaire and now lives 
alone--with this court and the law as the center of his life.''
  This unusual request from all the judges of the court gives our bill 
great credibility. I am grateful to the judges of our U.S. District 
Court here for their thoughtful proposal that honors a Washingtonian of 
historic proportions. I very much appreciate the many efforts of 
Senator Patrick Leahy to get the bill through the Senate last year and 
for agreeing once again to be the lead sponsor of this bill. The 
residents of this city, the court that Judge Bryant has served so well, 
and the members of the bar here join me in our hope to get the bill 
passed this year.

                          ____________________