[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 83 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF JUDGE ANN ALDRIDGE

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                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 27, 2010

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker and Colleagues, I rise today in honor and 
remembrance of Judge Ann Aldridge, an accomplished jurist who served as 
Federal District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio and helped to 
pave the way for all women lawyers.
  Judge Aldridge had a joy for life and a passion for service. She 
lived around the world, but she found her final home in Northeast Ohio. 
After World War II, she volunteered to rebuild rail lines in 
Yugoslavia. She graduated second in her New York University of Law 
class, in which she was the only woman. She would go on to her earn 
master and doctoral law degrees from NYU as well. She worked in 
Washington D.C. for the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
Development and the Federal Communications Center (FCC). Later, 
representing the United Church of Christ, she sued the FCC to make it 
easier for minorities in the south to own radio stations.
  Judge Aldridge moved to Shaker Heights to join the Cleveland-Marshall 
College of Law, where she became the school's first tenured woman 
professor. She taught one of the nation's first environmental law 
classes and helped develop minority outreach programs. She was first 
appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Carter in 1980 and 
served as an accomplished jurist until her retirement in 1995. She was 
the first female federal district court judge in Ohio, and even after 
her retirement she continued to remain active in the law.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in honor and remembrance of Judge Ann 
Aldridge, a trailblazer who paved the way for women in the law and 
enriched our nation through her deft interpretation and application of 
the law. I offer my condolences to her four sons, James Mooney, Allen 
Mooney, Martin Aldrich, William Aldrich, and her eight grandchildren.

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