[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 126 (Monday, October 3, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JUDGE MYRON THOMPSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ARTUR DAVIS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 3, 2005

  Mr. DAVIS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, because of my tremendous personal 
admiration and professional respect, I am particularly honored to rise 
today to introduce a resolution that gives tribute to Judge Myron 
Thompson's 25-year legacy of upholding the Constitution in the U.S. 
District Court for the Middle District of Alabama--considered one of 
the most important courts of the American civil rights movement. Judge 
Thompson's tenure on the bench reflects years of honest, diligent, and 
fair jurisprudence. This resolution documents Judge Thompson's 
distinguished service to the federal judiciary, the people of Alabama, 
and to the United States. I am pleased to ask the House to express its 
gratitude to U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson.
  Judge Thompson was appointed to the Federal bench by President Jimmy 
Carter in 1980 after an already distinguished legal career. A product 
of Alabama's segregated public schools, he attended Yale University and 
proceeded directly to Yale Law School, after which, he returned to 
Alabama to work for the state Attorney General's Office. Judge Thompson 
went on to private practice, as the only African-American practitioner 
in Dothan, AL, his mother's hometown. He later became the founding 
director and Board Chair of the Legal Services Corporation of Alabama.
  Once appointed to the Court, Judge Thompson inherited some of the 
most significant cases in the Middle District. He addressed the needs 
of mentally-ill residents in the Wyatt case, upholding principles of 
humane treatment that have become part of the fabric of American law. 
He addressed the needs of workers, presiding over numerous employment 
discrimination cases involving, at times, the claims of hundreds, if 
not thousands, of employees. Judge Thompson's rulings in voting rights 
cases broadened the civic participation of Alabama's traditionally 
disenfranchised. In the Dillard case, Judge Thompson found the Alabama 
legislature culpable of racial discrimination in fashioning and 
authorizing at-large election schemes for local jurisdictions. As a 
result of Dillard, there have been African-American city council 
members, county commission members, and school board members elected in 
places where previously there had never been an African-American 
elected to public office. Judge Thompson upheld the Constitution's 
promise to insulate every citizen from inhumane conditions while in 
government custody by finding the conditions at the Julia Tutwiler 
Prison for Women unconstitutional and pervasively unsafe. These are 
just some of Judge Thompson's more significant cases.
  Judge Thompson's judicial career has thrust him to the forefront of 
many of the most pressing social and political controversies of the 
day. His compassion for the marginalized, love of learning, and 
knowledge of the law are reflected in his courage, insight, and sound 
judgment. We are fortunate to have Judge Thompson on the federal bench, 
and America has been a direct beneficiary of his extraordinary service. 
I ask the House to join me in endorsing this resolution of appreciation 
and commendation for the service of District Judge Myron Thompson.

                          ____________________