[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 141 (Monday, September 8, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H7813-H7816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SPOTTSWOOD W. ROBINSON III AND ROBERT R. MERHIGE, JR. FEDERAL 
                               COURTHOUSE

  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2403) 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,'' as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 2403

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse located in the 700 block of 
     East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. 
     Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. 
     Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Carney) and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on S. 2403.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2403, as amended. This bill 
honors the distinguished careers of two giants in the civil rights 
field.
  From 1948 until 1960, Judge Robinson served at the NAACP's Legal 
Defense and Education Fund. During that time he was instrumental in 
representing the Virginia plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit Brown vs. 
Board of Education, which declared separate but unequal schools as 
unconstitutional.
  In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Judge Robinson to the 
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a six-member bipartisan commission 
charged with studying civil rights violations in the United States. 
Judge Robinson was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 73-17.
  In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Judge Robinson to the 
District Court, and 2 years later he became the first African American 
to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Judge 
Robinson served as Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals from 1981 
to 1986, and served on the Court until his retirement in 1992.

                              {time}  1415

  Judge Robert Merhige, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 
5, 1919. Judge Merhige attended High Point College in North Carolina 
and received his law degree from the University of Richmond's T.C. 
Williams School of Law in 1942. Upon graduation he enlisted in the 
United States Army Air Corps, where he served as a crewman aboard a B-
17 bomber based in Italy.
  Judge Merhige was U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of 
Virginia in 1967. He served there for over 30 years. He was a frequent 
lecturer at the University of Virginia and served on the faculty of the 
University of Richmond. While on the bench, Judge Merhige ordered the 
University of Virginia to admit women, and 2 years later he led the 
order to desegregate dozens of schools in Virginia.
  Two weeks into his service on the court, Judge Merhige drew the first 
of many high-profile cases that became the landmark of his career. He 
ordered the release of black activist H. Rap Brown, who was imprisoned 
in Virginia after making an impassioned and militant speech in 
Maryland.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill has broad bipartisan support, and I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  S. 2403 designates the new Federal Courthouse on East Broad Street in 
Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert 
Merhige Jr. Federal Courthouse.'' Both Judge Robinson and Judge Merhige 
were exceptional leaders and prominent figures in the desegregation and 
civil rights movement.
  Spottswood W. Robinson III was a distinguished jurist and a Virginia 
native. His was a career of firsts, beginning with his graduation from 
law school, first in his class. He then became the first African 
American to be appointed to the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia, the first African American to serve on the U.S. 
Court of Appeals, and the first African American chief judge of the 
D.C. Circuit.

[[Page H7814]]

  Beyond simply being the first African American to serve in these 
positions, Judge Robinson worked on many important cases that helped to 
pave the way for those who followed. During his time working at the 
NAACP, Judge Robinson worked on the Brown v. Board of Education case 
and was part of several other groundbreaking civil rights judicial 
decisions.
  Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Robinson served on the 
United States Commission on Civil Rights and was dean of the Howard 
University Law School. Much like Judge Robinson, Judge Merhige will be 
remembered for, among many other accomplishments, his significant 
impact in the civil rights movement.
  Judge Merhige's 1967 opinion to desegregate Virginia schools was one 
of the most important and groundbreaking steps in the civil rights 
movement. Following the issuance of the opinion, Judge Merhige had an 
around-the-clock guard to protect him from those who disagreed. While 
his decision was unpopular at the time, it was a vital step towards 
educational equality in Virginia.
  Prior to his service on the Federal bench as a judge, Merhige served 
honorably in the United States Air Force during World War II. He 
returned home to work as a lawyer and an advocate for a variety of 
clients in his adopted State of Virginia.
  The naming of this courthouse after these two well-respected judges 
is an appropriate way to honor their service. While their service as 
jurists had an impact on the entire Nation, they will also be 
remembered as distinguished Virginia judges.
  The bill has the support of the two Senators from Virginia and the 
entire Virginia congressional delegation. I support this legislation 
and urge my colleagues to do the same.
  And I would just ask that we reflect upon the circumstances in 
Virginia today, the progress that we have made since these decisions 
and since these judges led us out of segregation and into this modern 
era where we are in a society where our children grow up without real 
comprehension of what some of their predecessors lived through.
  I would urge adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott) such time as he may consume.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to 
rise in support of 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. United States Courthouse.''
  The Commonwealth of Virginia has a rich history of contributions in 
the founding of this country and in the establishment and development 
of our legal system. 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. In fact, 
the first law school in the country was our own College of William and 
Mary located in Williamsburg, Virginia.
  It is therefore fitting that we would name the new Federal Courthouse 
in our State's capital after two distinguished jurists, Judge 
Spottswood W. Robinson III and Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., whose 
exemplary careers under the law displayed the best ideals and 
principles of our Constitution and legal traditions.
  Spottswood William Robinson III was born in Richmond, Virginia, on 
July 26, 1916, and passed away in his home in Virginia on October 11, 
1998. He attended Virginia Union University and then Howard University 
Law School, graduating first in his class in 1939 and serving as a 
member of the faculty until 1947.
  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 Lyndon B. 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 Robinson served on the U.S. Commission on Civil 
Rights and as dean of the Howard University Law School.
  In addition to these exemplary and groundbreaking roles, Judge 
Robinson is probably best known for his role as one of the lead 
attorneys with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1948 to 
1960 and specifically for his representation of the Virginia plaintiffs 
in the 1954 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of 
Education, which declared ``separate but equal'' schools 
unconstitutional and is one of the landmark cases in our Nation's 
history.
  Judge Robert R. Merhige was born in New York, New York on February 5, 
1919, and passed away in Richmond on February 18, 2005. He attended 
High Point College in North Carolina where he received his 
undergraduate degree in 1940. He then 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, during World War II, Judge Merhige served in the 
United States Army Air Force as a crewman on a B-17 bomber based in 
Italy. After the war he returned to Richmond where he practiced law 
from 1945 to 1967. During that time, 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 31 years. While on the 
Federal bench, Judge Merhige presided over some of the most important 
and complex litigation in United States history. He ordered the 
University of Virginia to admit women in 1970. In 1972 he ordered the 
desegregation of dozens of Virginia school districts. As a result of 
his decision, he and his family were victims of threats and violence, 
and he was given 24-hour protection by U.S. marshals. His judicial 
courage and independence in the face of strong opposition is a 
testament to his dedication to equal justice under the law, and I 
believe his example is as pertinent today as it was then.
  The new Federal Courthouse in Richmond is under construction and 
nearing completion. I believe that naming it after these two exemplary 
jurists will not only serve as a tribute to their fierce adherence to 
the Constitution and to their legacy of equal justice under the law but 
also will serve as a reminder of their contributions to ensuring a fair 
and just legal system for all people.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Senator John Warner and Senator Jim Webb for 
introducing this bill in the Senate, as well as the support from the 
entire Virginia delegation. I would like to thank Chairman Oberstar and 
Chairwoman Norton, Ranking Members Mica and Graves, Representatives 
Carney and King, and both the Democratic and Republican leadership for 
the swift passage of this measure.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I just wanted to say a few extra words about this resolution and 
about the progress that this country has made.
  I have by now a few years on me, longer than a half century, and 
having grown up in the very Caucasian Midwest but traveled almost all 
the corners of this country and a lot of places in the world, and I 
have seen some examples of the segregation that existed back in those 
years that flowed through post-Civil War all the way up through the 
1950s and 1960s and began to break down in the 1960s. And as I 
mentioned in my brief remarks in the opening, it is a condition today 
where we have a desegregation and integration that is far, far superior 
to what we had in our society a generation or two ago. And the young 
people growing up today really don't have, I think, a touch or a feel 
for what this Nation was like or the culture that was there. The South 
has transformed remarkably from what it was to where it is today.
  I would submit that the leadership of these two gentlemen is part of 
the solution. They deserve significant credit for the leadership to 
move out of this.
  I would state that we are all God's children, and because of that we 
need to pull together and recognize there is

[[Page H7815]]

much more that identifies us together than separates us apart. And when 
we get to this point where we are pulling together as one Nation, one 
people, and one cause and erase the divides that are easy to identify, 
we get to the point where we can joke with one another and laugh with 
one another and work with one another and love and fight with one 
another in a fashion that enhances this country and glorifies our 
Creator, then that is where this Nation needs to go. This is a big step 
in the right direction. It's timely. I urge the adoption of this 
resolution, and I appreciate all the gentlemen and gentlewomen from 
Virginia that are cosponsors of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, allow me to rise for a brief 
moment to congratulate the Senators from Virginia and my good from 
friend and colleague on the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Scott, and, of 
course, the manager of this legislation and the minority manager as 
well.
  No one who has benefited from the civil rights of the law, if you 
will, could ignore the contributions of Spottswood William Robinson 
III. So I rise today to again add my respect for the naming of this 
courthouse after these two jurists, both Robert Merhige and of course 
Spottswood W. Robinson III, but particularly want to add my 
appreciation to what Judge Robinson did for education in the lawsuit 
that was filed on behalf of 100 parents and 450 students at Moton High 
School in Prince Edward County, convinced that their only chance was 
getting this case before the Supreme Court. In addition, his work on 
the 1954 Brown versus Board of Education, the work of his efforts with 
the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he laid the pathway for those of us who 
are the beneficiaries of his great work.
  Let me also suggest that the same with Robert Merhige and his work on 
civil rights issues but also dealing with major corporate litigation 
cases.
  These namings sometimes are alluded to as not being very important, 
but as we proceed on many important issues such as solving the energy 
crisis, I'm glad, Mr. Speaker, that we stop for a moment to give honor 
to individuals who laid the groundwork not only for me and those like 
me but really for America, and those who stand on the floor of the 
House that value democracy and equal opportunity, these individuals are 
deserving of the respect and admiration of this United States Congress 
and certainly are deserving of the naming of the courthouse after them.
  I rise today in support of S. 2403, which designates the new Federal 
courthouse in Richmond, Virginia as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III 
and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Federal Courthouse.'' I want to thank 
Senator Warner and the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure, and 
Senator Webb, for remembering a great educator, civil rights attorney, 
and judge, along with U.S. Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia who 
has championed this legislation.


                               background

Spottswood William Robinson III

  Spottswood William Robinson III, was born in Richmond, Virginia, on 
July 26, 1916. He attended Virginia Union University and then attended 
Howard University School of Law, graduating first in his class in 1939.
  Like his fellow jurist, Thurgood Marshall, he often credited the law 
school with instilling in its students the notion of social 
responsibility. He said, ``one of the things that was drilled into my 
head was . . . `This legal education that you're getting is not just 
for you, it was for everybody. So when you leave here, you want to put 
it to good use.' ''
  Spottswood Robinson argued one of the Supreme Court cases that led to 
the 1954 decision striking down school segregation. In early 1951, 
Robinson, who would later become a Federal judge, and his law partner 
in Richmond had no plans to attack school segregation in Virginia as 
unconstitutional. They were more focused on forcing local school 
systems to invest more in segregated black schools.
  But that was before Barbara Johns, a high school junior, called their 
law office in April. She complained that nothing at her school--buses, 
textbooks, facilities--even approached the quality of those provided at 
White schools.
  Robinson and his then-law partner Oliver Hill filed suit on behalf of 
100 parents of 450 students at Moton High School in Prince Edward 
County, Va., convinced that their only chance lay in getting the case 
before the U.S. Supreme Court.
  The issues in that case and four others--including Brown vs. Board of 
Education--were decided in the high court's historic 1954 Brown 
decision declaring ``separate but equal'' schools unconstitutional.
  Former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder wrote in a tribute to Robinson 
that, ``Where one can ride on a bus, a train, or plane, or where one 
can live and rent or buy a house, or whether public education has to be 
given the same level to all people are basic Issues. Spottswood 
Robinson has been there . . . in his quiet, unassuming . . . way, 
charting and paving a path for countless Americans . . . who owe to him 
a great debt of gratitude.''

  Judge Robinson was a faculty member of the Howard University School 
of Law from his graduation in 1939 until 1947. Judge Robinson was one 
of the core attorneys of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
from 1948 to 1960. Through the NAACP LDF Robinson worked on important 
civil rights cases including Brown v. Board of Education and Chance v. 
Lambeth, 4th Cir., 1951, establishing the invalidity of carrier-
enforced racial segregation in interstate transportation.
  From 1960-64 Spottswood Robinson became Dean of the Howard University 
School of Law. He then served as a member of the United States 
Commission on Civil Rights from 1961 to 1963.
  In 1964, Judge Robinson was the first African-American to be 
appointed the United States District Court for the District of 
Columbia. In 1966, Judge Robinson became the first African-American 
appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit when he was appointed by President Johnson.
  On May 7, 1981, Judge Robinson became the first African-American to 
serve as Chief Judge of the court. Judge Robinson took senior status in 
1989 and later retired. He passed on in 1998. Leaving behind a legacy 
of civil rights leadership and legal advocacy.
Robert R. Merhige, Jr.

  Robert R. Merhige Jr., was the U.S. District Court judge who ordered 
Virginia schools desegregated and presided over major corporate 
litigation cases. His unusually long tenure on the Federal bench--31 
years--brought him many cases of national importance. He wrote the 
decision for a three-judge panel that threw out the appeals of 
Watergate figures G. Gordon Liddy, Bernard Barker, and Eugenio 
Martinez, after they were convicted of breaking into the office of 
Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist.
  He ordered the University of Virginia to admit women in 1970. He 
clarified the rights of pregnant women to keep their jobs. He presided 
over the trials of Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party members accused 
of injuring and killing members of the Communist Workers Party in 
Greensboro, NC, in 1979.
  No decision made him more unpopular than his orders to integrate 
dozens of Virginia's school systems. He was widely considered the most 
hated man in Richmond in the early 1970s and required 24-hour 
protection by U.S. marshals. Segregationists threatened his family, 
spat in his face, and shot his dog to death after tying its legs. 
Protesters held weekly parades outside his home. A guest cottage on his 
property, where his mother-in-law lived, was burned to the ground.
  Not long ago he told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he was still 
amazed, disappointed and angry at the public reaction to his rulings. 
He was known for his kindness and integrity and for brooking no delays 
or foolishness in his court, part of the Eastern District of Virginia 
known as the ``rocket docket.'' He once ordered a marshal to remove a 
man who had fallen asleep in the courtroom. The man, it turned out, was 
his father.
  Born in New York, Mr. Merhige attended High Point College in North 
Carolina and received his law degree from the University of Richmond's 
T.C. Williams School of Law in 1942.
  He served in the Army Air Forces in World War II as a crewman on a B-
17 bomber based in Italy. Mr. Merhige practiced law in Richmond from 
1945 until he was appointed to the Federal bench in 1967 by President 
Lyndon B. Johnson.
  Two weeks into his job, the new judge drew the first of the 
controversial cases that became the hallmark of his career. He ordered 
the release of African-American activist H. Rap Brown, who was 
imprisoned in Virginia after making an impassioned and militant speech 
in Maryland.
  In 1968, Mr. Merhige ruled that the conflict in Vietnam was a war, 
whether or not it was a declared war. That ruling came in a case in 
which 96 Army reservists tried to avoid serving in Vietnam. Mr. Merhige 
denied their request.
  On a tour of his memorabilia-filled chambers two decades later, a 
reporter noted that among signed photographs, which ranged from former 
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to former attorney general Ramsey Clark, a 
copy

[[Page H7816]]

of President Richard M. Nixon's resignation adorned the mantelpiece. 
``I wanted that since the day he was inaugurated,'' Mr. Merhige was 
quoted as saying.

Conclusion

  Mr. Speaker, Judge Robinson and Judge Merhige were men who stood 
their ground, followed their conscience and the law. I am pleased to 
see the good State of Virginia--known as the Capitol of the South--
recognizing two men who sought to change it--for the better.
  I urge my colleagues to support S. 2403, and the new Federal 
courthouse that celebrates these two great civil rights advocates.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2403, a 
bill to designate the United States courthouse, located at 700 East 
Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III 
and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse''. Spottswood W. 
Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., were appointed to the Federal 
bench by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1967, respectively. 
Judge Robinson graduated from Howard University Law School, was a 
prominent civil rights lawyer, and was appointed by President Kennedy 
to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Judge Merhige graduated from 
the University of Richmond, served in the U.S. Army, and was considered 
one of the most formidable lawyers in Virginia. Judge Merhige was known 
for presiding over several high-profile cases and was noted for 
ordering the University of Virginia to admit women.
  Both judges served with distinction and played a key role in the 
racial integration of Virginia schools so it is fitting and proper to 
name the U.S. courthouse in Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. 
Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse''.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of S. 2403, the 
``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., United States 
Courthouse''.
  Mr. CARNEY. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Carney) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2403, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________