[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 162 (Tuesday, November 3, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE LATE SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE SOLOMON 
                              CASSEB, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 3, 2009

  Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the late Senior 
District Judge Solomon Casseb, Jr., for his dedication and 
contributions to the city of San Antonio and South Texas community.
  Judge Casseb was born in 1915 in San Antonio, Texas. He attended St. 
Mary's University and University of Texas Law. By 1938, he was admitted 
to practice and later was enlisted as a Private in the United States 
Air Force at the break of World War II. After his service overseas, he 
was honorably discharged with the rank of Major to return home to a 
private practice of law. Thereafter, he was appointed for 2 terms as 
Judge of the 57th District Court and later served as Presiding Judge of 
the District Courts of Bexar County, as well as Presiding Judge for the 
Fourth Administrative District. It was 1985 when Judge Casseb acquired 
senior status and began serving as Senior District Judge of Texas. 
Shortly after in 1987, he received the Texas Bar Foundation's 
Outstanding Jurist Award. He was a member of the Advisory Committee to 
the Supreme Court of Texas and the Joint Task Force. Judge Casseb's 
contribution to the community of law was further recognized when he 
presided over the critical phases of the Pennzoil versus Texaco case, 
which resulted in the largest jury award in American jurisprudence. The 
judgment of that case has been upheld by the Appellate Courts of Texas 
and proves monumental to the state and Judge Casseb's work.
  The progression of Judge Casseb's career went hand and hand with the 
numerous awards, recognitions, and appointments he received. Early on 
in his career, he was chosen the Outstanding Ex-Student of St. Mary's 
University. In 1965, Judge Casseb was named Outstanding Judge of 1965 
by the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Thereafter, he received 
Lifetime Achievement Awards from the San Antonio Bar Association, San 
Antonio Bar Foundation and the Laredo/Webb County Bar Association. By 
1991, Judge Casseb was named Mr. South Texas at the Annual Washington 
Birthday Celebration in Laredo. A year later, the University of Texas 
Law School established the Judge Solomon Casseb, Jr., School in his 
honor.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to have had the time to recognize the 
dedication, accomplishments, and commitment of the late Senior District 
Judge Solomon Casseb, Jr., and I thank you for this time.

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