[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 52 (Monday, March 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S3749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO JUDGE ELSIJANE TRIMBLE ROY

 Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, every year during the month of 
March, we honor the women who have made a lasting impact on our 
country's history with Women's History Month. This month, I want to pay 
tribute to a true Arkansas pioneer who passed away earlier this year, 
Judge Elsijane Trimble Roy.
  Judge Roy has been referred to as ``Arkansas' Lady of Many Firsts.'' 
Only the third woman to graduate from the University of Arkansas law 
school in 1939, Judge Roy was the first female in the state of Arkansas 
to be appointed as circuit judge in 1966. In 1975, then-Governor David 
Pryor appointed Judge Roy to the Arkansas Supreme Court, making her the 
first woman to serve as an Arkansas Supreme Court Justice. Just 2 years 
later, newly elected President Jimmy Carter selected Judge Roy to serve 
on the Federal bench, and she was given the distinct honor of becoming 
Arkansas' first female Federal judge, as well as the first female judge 
appointed to the eighth Circuit.
  The daughter of Federal judge Thomas C. Trimble, Judge Roy and her 
father also held the distinction of being the first father and daughter 
to serve as Federal judges. In fact, Judge Roy served in the same 
courtroom that her father presided over for nearly 20 years. She often 
mentioned that she could feel his presence, and in a 1996 interview 
with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, she noted that ``It's meant so much 
to me to be able to try cases in the same court. I look up there, and 
he helps me with the hard cases.''
  A gifted athlete who loved sports, Judge Roy was a star player for 
the Lonoke High School basketball team in Lonoke, AR, and was a two-
time women's singles champion at the University of Arkansas.
  Judge Roy was devoted to both her family and her faith. She was a 
proud mother, grandmother, and later in life, a great-grandmother. 
Judge Roy was also an aunt to many nieces and nephews. She was a 
longtime member of First Baptist Church in Lonoke and taught Sunday 
school class when she lived in Blytheville, AR. According to her 
obituary, Judge Roy gave credit to the Lord for her many judicial 
appointments, saying, ``I have always felt I have been brought to these 
positions by the Lord.'' The center of her faith was her favorite Bible 
verse, Micah 6:8, which reads, ``What does the Lord require of you but 
to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.''
  A truly remarkable woman, Judge Roy received many honors in her life, 
including the Outstanding Appellate Judge of 1976-1977 by the Arkansas 
Trial Lawyers Association. One honor, however, stands out above others. 
In 1976, Judge Roy was chosen as Arkansas Democrat's Woman of the Year, 
a distinction her mother also earned. She received a plaque for that 
honor, and in a 1979 Arkansas Democrat article, Judge Roy said, ``If 
anything is ever written about me, I want it to contain the words on 
that plaque. Throughout my career, the things written there are the 
things I have lived for.''
  The plaque reads:

       As a law clerk, lawyer, and trial judge, Elsijane Trimble 
     Roy established a reputation for integrity, intelligence, and 
     independence. As the first woman on the Arkansas Supreme 
     Court, she has become a symbol of pride and inspiration to 
     all women.

  Judge Roy, you have been a source of pride and inspiration to all 
women, not only in Arkansas, but throughout our great land. You will 
most certainly be missed.

                          ____________________