[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 183 (Monday, December 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14704-S14705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. Webb):
  S. 2403. A bill to designate the new Federal Courthouse, located in 
the 700 block of East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as the 
``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Federal 
Courthouse''; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a bill to name the 
new Richmond courthouse for two distinguished Virginia jurists, Judge 
Spottswood W. Robinson III and Judge Robert Merhige, Jr.
  Since the selection of the College of William and Mary as the site 
for the Nation's first law school, Virginia's contribution to the field 
of law is arguably without equal. Virginia practitioners such as George 
Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, James Monroe and Henry Clay 
have all profoundly shaped and molded our country's legal traditions.
  Continuing in that rich tradition, Judge Spottswood W. Robinson, III, 
and Judge Robert Merhige, Jr. were lawyers who throughout their careers 
adhered to the principles of ``equal justice under law.''
  Spottswood William Robinson, III was born in Richmond, Virginia on 
July 26, 1916. He attended Virginia Union University and then Howard 
University School of Law, graduating first in his class in 1939 and 
serving as member of the faculty until 1947.
  Judge Robinson was one of the core attorneys of the NAACP Legal 
Defense and Educational Fund from 1948 to 1960, achieving national 
prominence in the legal community with his representation of the 
Virginia plaintiffs in the 1954 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown 
v. Board of Education that declared ``separate but equal'' schools 
unconstitutional.
  In 1964, Judge Robinson became the first African-American to be 
appointed to the United States District Court for the District of 
Columbia. In 1966, President Johnson appointed Judge Robinson the first 
African-American to the United States Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia Circuit. On May 7, 1981, Judge Robinson became the first 
African-American to serve as Chief Judge of the District of Columbia 
Circuit.
  Judge Merhige was born in New York in 1919 and attended High Point 
College in North Carolina. Later, he earned his law degree from T.C. 
Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, from which he 
graduated at the top of his class in 1942.
  From 1942 to 1945, Judge Merhige served in the United States Air 
Force and then practiced law in Richmond from 1945 until 1967. While 
practicing in Richmond, Judge Merhige established himself as a 
formidable trial lawyer representing a wide variety of clients. In 
August of 1967, Judge Merhige was appointed U.S. District Court Judge 
for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division by President 
Lyndon B. Johnson, where he served for over 30 years.
  While on the Federal bench, Judge Merhige presided over some of the 
most important and complicated litigation in U.S. history. In 1970, he 
ordered the University of Virginia to admit women, and 2 years later he 
ordered the desegregation of dozens of Virginia school districts. As 
evidence of Judge Merhige's groundbreaking decisions, he was given 24-
hour protection by Federal marshals, due to repeated threats of 
violence against him and his family. His courage in the face of the 
significant opposition of the times is a testimony to his dedication to 
the rule of law.
  I have been down to Richmond to see the new courthouse, and I can 
tell you it is a magnificent structure, and as such, I carefully took 
this responsibility in naming the U.S. Federal courthouse in Richmond. 
No name is more fitting for this important structure than naming it 
after two legal giants--both jurists--the Robinson-Merhige Federal 
Courthouse.
  I thank the Senate for the consideration of this bill and look 
forward to working with my colleagues seeking its passage.
  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I am honored to speak on behalf of a bill I 
have cosponsored with my distinguished colleague, the senior senator 
from Virginia.
  It is altogether appropriate that the new Federal courthouse in 
Richmond, our Commonwealth's capital and a city that played a pivotal 
role in our Nation's civil rights debate, be named in honor of two of 
Virginia's most distinguished citizens, Judge Spottswood Robinson, III, 
and Judge Robert Merhige, Jr. Both of these men are considered 
consummate Federal jurists, and both will be remembered as fierce 
defenders of the Constitution and the rule of law.
  Judge Robinson was born in Richmond on July 26, 1916 and passed away 
at his home in Virginia on October 11, 1998. Judge Robinson attended 
Virginia Union University and achieved a number of ``firsts.'' He 
graduated first in his class from Howard University's School of Law. He 
was the first African-American to be appointed to the U.S. District 
Court for the District of Columbia. Also, he was the first African-
American to be appointed to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia and the first African-American to serve as chief 
justice of that court. Judge Robinson served on the U.S. Commission on 
Civil Rights and as dean of Howard University Law School. Of his long 
and distinguished career, one of his most notable accomplishments was 
serving as counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 
and acting as one of the principal attorneys in Brown v. The Board of 
Education, arguably the most important civil rights case of the 
twentieth century.
  Professor Jack Greenberg of Columbia University Law School, an 
authority on civil rights law stated, ``[Judge Robinson] was an 
exceptionally capable lawyer. He was good with judges and juries. He 
knew the law. He knew some of the esoteric, technical, sort of obscure 
parts of legal history.'' Considering Judge Robinson's arguments before 
the Supreme Court, Professor Greenberg said, ``He was very calm and 
just absolutely brimming with facts and information and legal 
doctrine.''
  Judge Merhige was born February 5, 1919, in New York, and after 31 
years on the bench, passed away in Richmond on February 18, 2005. Judge 
Merhige presided over the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District 
of Virginia from 1967 until 1998. Judge Merhige received his law degree 
from the University of Richmond's T.C. Williams School of Law. In 1972, 
Judge Merhige courageously ordered the desegregation of dozens of 
Virginia school districts. Despite numerous threats and receiving 24-
hour protection by Federal authorities, Judge Merhige remained faithful 
to the Constitution and the rule of law. Judge Merhige ordered the 
University of Virginia to admit women in 1970 and rejected appeals by 
defendants in the Watergate case.
  A friend of many years, Governor Gerald Baliles, once stated Judge 
Merhige was, ``a man of civility and courage, a gentle but vibrant 
force of the legal realm. . . . [Judge Merhige] was a master of wit and 
could puncture the pomposity of lawyers as well as engage in acts of 
self-deprecation.''

[[Page S14705]]

  These two men were bold enough to recognize and fight to ensure that 
the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution are enjoyed by 
everyone, and not just the privileged or members of a certain race, 
religion, or socio-economic group.
  The names of Judge Robinson and Judge Merhige will be etched on the 
walls of this courthouse. I am committed to ensuring that their legacy 
of equality and fundamental fairness persists in the hearts of all 
Virginians.

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