[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING JUDGE SOLOMON CASSEB, JR., ON HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES A. GONZALEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 2005

  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a jurist of 
distinction and a good friend, Judge Solomon Casseb Jr. on the occasion 
of his 90th birthday. He has been a pillar of the Texas legal community 
for over half a century and God willing will continue to wield his 
expertise and knowledge in the years to come for the betterment of our 
State. This San Antonio native has been pivotal in the affairs of our 
city but also throughout South Texas.
  During his long and distinguished career, Judge Casseb has served as 
judge of the 57th District Court in Bexar County for two terms, as 
Presiding Judge for the Fourth Administrative District and he now 
serves as a Senior District Judge of Texas. He presided over a critical 
phase of the Pennzoil versus Texaco case which led to the largest jury 
award in American judicial history.
  Judge Casseb's hard work and dedication have been recognized and 
honored by a variety of organizations. In 1961, St. Mary's University 
named him the Outstanding Ex-Student and in 1968 he was given the St. 
Thomas More Award which St. Mary's Law School annually awards to a 
``judge, lawyer, law teacher or layperson who has made exceptional 
contributions to legal education, the legal profession, or 
government.'' Judge Casseb's dedication to jurisprudence and service 
has earned him his place alongside other luminaries such as Archibald 
Cox, Alexander Haig, and Leon Jaworski.
  The Texas Trial Lawyers Association named him the Outstanding Judge 
in 1985, and two years later he won the Texas Bar Foundation's 
Outstanding Jurist Award. In 1991, the University of the Incarnate Word 
gave Judge Casseb the Insigne Verbum Award and the University of Texas 
Law School named a Professorship in his honor, the Judge Solomon Casseb 
Jr. Research Professorship in Law. Finally, the first Joe Frazier Brown 
Award for Excellence, the San Antonio Bar Association's highest honor 
was bestowed on Judge Casseb on Law Day in 1994. In fact, this list of 
awards contains representation from nearly every legal association, 
society or school in Texas which should convey an idea of the breadth 
and depth of his contribution to the field of law in our State.
  In addition to his myriad legal contributions, Judge Casseb has 
sought to help those less fortunate than him. He has been pivotal in 
the administration of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust, an organization 
that has improved the lives of many in Laredo. The Trust he co-
administers with JC Martin III supports a wide range of organizations 
and institutions dedicated to helping the youth of Laredo. The Trust 
gave the largest philanthropic gift in Laredo history to Texas A&M 
International University in the form of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science 
Center and Planetarium.
  On the wondrous occasion of his 90th birthday, I wish many more years 
of health and good fortune for him and his family and may he continue 
his service to San Antonio and Texas.

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