[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 58 (Thursday, May 5, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E906]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO JUDGE ANDREW L. JEFFERSON, JR

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 5, 2005

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, May 6, 2005, my alma 
mater, Thurgood Marshall School of Law located in the great city of 
Houston, will designate the Andrew L. Jefferson, Jr. Endowed Chair in 
Trial Advocacy in honor of my great friend and mentor, Judge Andrew L. 
Jefferson, Jr.
  Born in Dallas, Texas in 1934, Judge Jefferson has lived in Houston 
since the ripe old age of 2. A graduate of Jack Yates High School, 
Texas Southern University and the University of Texas School of Law, 
Judge Jefferson has, over the years, distinguished himself not only as 
an accomplished legal scholar, but also as a dedicated community 
leader.
  A humble man, Andrew Jefferson has had an exemplary career that began 
in the early sixties when he was a partner in the law firm of 
Washington and Jefferson. Because Judge Jefferson displayed, at an 
early age, a remarkable command of the law, he was recruited to serve 
as the Assistant District Attorney for Bexar County, a position he held 
until he was appointed Chief Assistant United States Attorney and 
subsequently Chief of the Criminal Section for the Western District of 
Texas, a job he held until Humble Oil and Refining Company beckoned him 
to join their ranks as Trial and Labor Relations Counsel. During the 
early seventies, he assumed the role of Judge in the Court of Domestic 
Relations #2 for Harris County, and in 1973 was elected to a full four-
year term. At the end of his tenure in the Domestic Court, Judge 
Jefferson was appointed and then elected to the 208th District Court. 
In 1975, believing that he could inspire young people to enter the 
legal profession, the distinguished barrister left the bench and re-
entered private practice.
  In addition to being honorably discharged as a Captain in the United 
States Army Reserve-Judge Advocate General's Corps, the distinguished 
gentleman from Texas is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Houston Bar 
Association, the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar 
Association, the National Bar Association, Phi Alpha Delta Legal 
Fraternity, a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., former 
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Houston Branch of the 
National Urban League, and a Life Member of the NAACP.
  Among his many awards and accomplishments, Judge Jefferson has 
received the Anti-Defamation League National Torch of Liberty Award, 
the Forward Times Newspaper Community Service Award, the Charles A. 
George Community Service Award and the League of United Latin American 
Citizens National Community Service Award from LaRaza.
  Mr. Speaker, I am blessed to have the opportunity to pay tribute to a 
great American hero. For those of us who know the Honorable Andrew L. 
Jefferson, we are always in awe of his ability as a coalition builder 
to bridge the gap between young and old and those of different cultural 
backgrounds. I believe that when history records the legacy of Andrew 
L. Jefferson, it will honor his role as a warrior who never forgot 
where he came from and always worked tirelessly on behalf of the least, 
the last and the lost.

                          ____________________