[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1912-E1913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN HONOR OF JUSTICE WILLIAM E. McANULTY, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. YARMUTH

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 18, 2007

  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I rise to salute the life of a good 
friend and great public servant. William E. McAnulty, Jr., lost his 
battle with lung cancer on August 23. His passing marks the culmination 
of an incredible life: the son of an Indiana mailman became the first 
African American to be elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
  He will be missed not only by his wonderful family--wife Kristi, sons 
Patrick and William III, daughters Katheryn and Shannon, and father 
William E. McAnulty--but by legions of friends and admirers who loved 
him for his incredible wit, his lively intelligence, and his unwavering 
commitment to justice throughout society.
  Bill, or Judge Mac as he was belovedly known, was born in 
Indianapolis in 1947. He received his B.A. from Indiana University and 
both his masters and J.D. degrees from the University of Louisville. He 
was first elected to the bench in 1975 as a judge in Jefferson County 
Juvenile Court. Two years later he was elected to the Jefferson County 
District Court, and then he was selected by Kentucky Governor John Y. 
Brown, Jr., to serve as Secretary of the Justice Cabinet in 1980.
  Following his service in Frankfort, Bill was once again elected to 
the bench, this time to the Jefferson Circuit Court, where he served 
until 1998, when he became the first African American to be elected to 
the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
  In June, 2006, McAnulty was appointed by Governor Ernie Fletcher to 
succeed Justice Martin E. Johnstone, who was retiring. Then last fall, 
he was elected to that post. While he tried to play down the 
significance of being the first African American to serve on the 
Supreme Court, he was well aware of what his accomplishment meant. Upon 
his swearing in, he said that other African Americans ``will understand 
this door is open and they are able like any other lawyer or judge to 
enter.''
  But McAnulty was not like any other lawyer or judge. He was 
universally recognized and applauded for his fairness, his patience, 
and his disarming sense of humor. When he learned that he had cancer 
that had spread to his brain and was to undergo surgery, he said his 
only fear was that he would ``wake up as Clarence Thomas or a UK fan.''
  Justice McAnulty was frequently the recipient of professional honors, 
including the Henry V. Pennington Outstanding Judge of the Year in 
1997, awarded by the Kentucky Trial Attorneys.
  Unfortunately, no simple biography can adequately describe the person 
under the black robe. Bill was one of those rare individuals who was 
equally comfortable with princes and paupers, and who never thought 
about the difference. I was fortunate to know him for more than 25 
years, and most recently, as we both campaigned last year, I saw 
firsthand how deeply he cared about the least among us, and how 
steadfast was his commitment to combat injustice wherever he saw it.
  I know he would have seen some kind of cosmic irony in the fact that 
his crowning

[[Page E1913]]

achievement would have ended so quickly, but while his tenure on the 
Kentucky Supreme Court was short, his legacy to Kentucky justice will 
endure forever.

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