[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 132 (Thursday, September 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF MR. RANDOLPH BAXTER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 8, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in honor of Randolph 
Baxter as he retires from 26 years as a Federal Bankruptcy Judge for 
the Northern District of Ohio, and as Chief Judge for the last seven 
years. In 1996, Judge Baxter was appointed by the Sixth Circuit Court 
of Appeals to serve as a charter member of its Bankruptcy Appellate 
Panel. Primarily appointed to sit in Cleveland, Judge Baxter also heard 
cases in Akron, Canton, Toledo and Youngstown and has served as a 
visiting judge in Delaware, New York, Tennessee, Michigan and Florida.
  A native of Columbia, Tennessee, Judge Baxter is an honors graduate 
of Tuskegee University and the University of Akron School of Law. Prior 
to becoming a judge, Judge Baxter was engaged in the private practice 
of law before serving as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department 
of Justice. He also served as the Deputy Director, Department of Public 
Service for the City of Akron, Ohio, and earlier served as a salary 
administration analyst with the B.F. Goodrich Company.
  Judge Baxter served as an officer in the U.S. Army, receiving the 
Bronze Star for Valor, among other unit citations, while serving as a 
tank platoon leader in Vietnam and Cambodia with the 11th Armored 
Cavalry Regiment. He later achieved the rank of captain and commanded a 
tank company before resigning his commission and returning to civilian 
life in 1971.
  As a student, Judge Baxter worked summers in the steel mills, earning 
his way through college. It was perhaps this experience that prepared 
him for presiding over a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, TRO, 
in the LTV Steel bankruptcy case. While the case itself was assigned to 
another judge in the Northern District of Ohio, the motion for the TRO 
came when the other judge was not available. Judge Baxter quickly 
learned the issues behind the motion and heard arguments from all 
sides. The motion was submitted after workers at the LTV facility in 
Cleveland realized that there was not enough coke being shipped to keep 
the blast furnace hot until the sitting judge could hear the merits of 
the case for shutting down or keeping open the Cleveland steelmaking 
facilities. If the furnace did not stay hot, it would have been 
irreparably damaged and Cleveland would have lost the capability to 
produce primary steel. As the LTV lawyers observed Judge Baxter's 
reactions to both sides of the argument and came to grips with the 
tough questions Judge Baxter asked, they asked the judge to adjourn 
while they negotiated an Agreed Order with my attorneys and the 
attorneys for the steel workers and the various creditors in the 
bankruptcy case. The parties negotiated an Agreed Order, LTV complied 
with the order to keep the furnace hot, and the steelmaking assets were 
saved. Nearly 10 years later, the blast furnace is now part of Arcelor 
Mittal and continues to produce steel.
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring Chief Judge 
Randolph Baxter, soldier, scholar, lawyer and judge, as he retires from 
the federal bankruptcy bench and embarks on the next set of journeys in 
his life.

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