[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO JUDGE J. WILLIAM BEARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2006

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, today I acknowledge a great friend of the 
legal community, Judge J. William Beard, who passed away last month at 
the age of 85.
  Born March 20, 1920 in Chicago, Judge Beard moved with his family to 
the San Fernando Valley in 1925. He attended the University of Redlands 
before enlisting in the Army Air Forces during World War II.
  Leaving the military as a lieutenant, Judge Beard married Ann Dodgen 
in October 1945 and returned to his Los Angeles-area roots. As an 
aspiring lawyer, he opened a legal messenger service and attended 
Southwestern University School of Law.
  In 1951, two years after graduating and passing the State Bar, Judge 
Beard joined the District Attorney's Office in El Centro, which is 
located in my district in Imperial County, California. Several months 
later, he opened a private practice. One of his subsequent law 
partners, Cruz Reynoso, became the first Latino appointed to the 
California Supreme Court in 1982.
  When future U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston and other Democratic leaders 
formed the California Democratic Council in 1952, Judge Beard became a 
charter member. He interrupted his legal career to serve as an Imperial 
County-based state senator from 1957 to 1961 (District 39), and was 
appointed to the El Cajon Municipal Court bench in 1980.
  As a recovering alcoholic, Judge Beard was active in the state Bar 
Association's committee on Alcohol Abuse. He started a support group 
for alcoholic legal professionals and doctors in the 1970s. Judge Beard 
believed that his background with alcoholism provided him with insights 
into the human psyche that were invaluable in the courtroom.
  Later, while serving on the Municipal Court bench in El Cajon, he 
handled small claims court cases in Ramona. The informal, rural setting 
provided an intimacy that he found lacking in a larger venue.
  By the time he retired a decade later, he had also established an 
alcohol counseling program for drunken drivers at the El Cajon court--
one of the first of its kind in the county. In retirement, Judge Beard 
served on the state Medical Assurance Board and spoke at 12-step 
recovery meetings.
  Judge Beard's passing will not only be felt in the legal community 
but society as a whole, as Judge Beard was a humanitarian who truly 
cared for his fellow human beings.

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