[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING JUDGE GERALD W. HEANEY

  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, today I note with sorrow the passing of 
one of America's great jurists, Judge Gerald W. Heaney. Judge Heaney 
died Tuesday in Duluth, MN. Judge Heaney served with distinction and 
honor for 40 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 
He played a leading role in enforcing Brown v. Board of Education by 
desegregating schools in, among other places, Kansas City, Omaha, and 
St. Louis. A giant of the law, Judge Heaney will be remembered as not 
only a brilliant jurist but a judge who helped make the promise of 
equality under the law a reality for many Americans.
  Judge Heaney received both a bachelor's and law degree from the 
University of Minnesota. During World War II, Judge Heaney served with 
distinction in the Army, landing on Omaha Beach on D-day and staying in 
Germany after the war to help reform local labor laws. After returning 
from the war, Judge Heaney practiced labor law for 20 years. He 
negotiated the contract that made Duluth public schools the first in 
the State to adopt equal pay for women.
  Judge Heaney's civic accomplishments before joining the Eighth 
Circuit are a testament to one of Minnesota's most public-spirited 
sons. He was instrumental in creating Duluth's Seaway Port Authority 
and the local public broadcasting station. He also served as a regent 
for the University of Minnesota and was a lifelong champion of the 
University of Minnesota Duluth.
  As an appellate judge, Judge Heaney was devoted to enforcing the 
Constitution's promise of equal protection and expanding equality to 
all citizens, regardless of race, sex, religion, age, or disability. On 
the occasion of his retirement 4 years ago, Minnesota Public Radio 
interviewed Latonya Davis, a former student in the St. Louis public 
schools. Because of Judge Heaney's desegregation orders, Ms. Davis had 
the opportunity to attend a suburban school that she says changed her 
life:
  ``I didn't even expect to go to college,'' she recalls. ``My junior 
year in high school, I had a teacher say, `So what college you going 
to?' and I was like, `I'm not going.' Because I just knew it was 
expensive, and I didn't think to go. I had bunch of teachers push me, 
and help me find ways to pay for it. They really wanted me to succeed 
in life.''
  Ms. Davis is now a teacher herself with an advanced degree.
  For Judge Heaney, equality of opportunity was also personal: he hired 
the Eighth Circuit's first African-American and female law clerks.
  Judge Heaney was a leading jurist on criminal justice issues. His 
opinions on the fourth amendment were exceedingly influential, 
including an argument in dissent concerning probable cause for a 
warrant that later was adopted by the Supreme Court. Judge Heaney's 
scholarship on Federal sentencing was an impassioned plea for humanity 
and decency in sentencing.
  Judge Heaney is survived by Eleanor, his wife of 64 years, his 
daughter Carol, son Bill, sister Elizabeth, six grandchildren, and 
eight great-grandchildren. I offer my deepest sympathies to all who 
knew and loved him. Vice President Mondale said it best when he said 
that Judge Heaney was ``a great and decent human being, a superb judge 
and a really caring human being.''
  Fittingly, the Federal courthouse in Duluth, MN, is named for Judge 
Heaney. It stands as a lasting monument to the cause of Judge Heaney's 
life--providing equal justice under the law.

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