[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                IN MEMORIAM OF THE HONORABLE PAUL MANNES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 2016

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
Honorable Paul Mannes, an outstanding public servant who, over the 
course of his 34 years of service as a United States Bankruptcy Judge 
for the District of Maryland, exemplified the finest qualities of a 
jurist. Unfortunately, Judge Mannes passed away on January 20, 2016 at 
the age of 82. He is very much missed by his wife of 58 years, Karen 
Klein Mannes, and their three sons and daughters-in-law as well as his 
colleagues on the bench and in the bar.
  Born in the District of Columbia on December 25, 1933, Judge Mannes 
grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland and went on to Dartmouth, where he 
majored in philosophy and graduated with honors in 1955. Thereafter, he 
attended Georgetown University School of Law, where he earned a juris 
doctor degree in 1958 and a Masters in Law in 1961. After serving as a 
law clerk to the Honorable Alexander Holtzoff, U.S. District Judge for 
the District of Columbia, and as an Assistant Corporate Counsel to the 
District of Columbia, he entered private practice with various law 
firms. On December 10, 1981, he was sworn in as United States 
Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Maryland.
  During his time on the bench, Judge Mannes published 155 opinions 
that span more than 500 volumes of the Bankruptcy Reporter. He enjoyed 
a national reputation in the bankruptcy community as one of America's 
foremost judges. The Washington Post, for example, praised him in 1991 
as the court's ``workhorse.''
  In addition to his demanding workload on the bench, Judge Mannes 
devoted his time to improving the law. In 1987, he was appointed by 
Chief Justice Rehnquist to the Judicial Conference of the United States 
Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules and later served as Chairman of 
the Committee, the first bankruptcy judge to be so honored. He was also 
active in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, where he served 
as President from 1992 to 1993, and was a member of the American 
Bankruptcy Institute, among other professional organizations.
  Judge Mannes was also a valuable resource to the Committee on the 
Judiciary. For example, he testified before the Committee in 1995 and 
in 2003 on the need for additional bankruptcy judgeships respectively 
on behalf of the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy 
Rules and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. He helpfully 
provided his assistance to Committee staff on both sides of the aisle. 
He also served on a special advisory group to the National Bankruptcy 
Review Commission, an independent body created by Congress to study and 
make recommendations to improve our Nation's bankruptcy laws.
  Judge Mannes thoroughly embraced his role as a jurist and served as a 
mentor to those who were beginning their careers as bankruptcy judges. 
He and his wife hosted dinners for every new class of newly-appointed 
bankruptcy judges who attended the judges' orientation seminar at the 
Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC. This home-style welcome, 
which he paid for at his own expense, became a virtual institution that 
endeared Judge Mannes and his wife to judges from all over the country 
and enhanced the collegiality of our Nation's bankruptcy bench.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the life of 
the Honorable Paul Mannes. He will truly be missed, but his legacy will 
not soon be forgotten.

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