[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 91 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E870-E871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORIAM OF MICHAEL RATNER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 2016

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, with my colleague 
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, to pay tribute to Attorney Michael Ratner, a 
fearless champion for justice and peace, who passed away on Wednesday, 
May 11, 2016 at the age of 72.
  For nearly half a century, the talented and tenacious Michael Ratner 
brought cases with the Center for Constitutional Rights in U.S. courts 
related to war, torture, and other human rights violations. Throughout 
his decades of legal service, he was and remains a giant in the field 
on Constitutional law and the law of war.
  He was born in Cleveland on June 13, 1943. His father, Harry, was a 
Jewish immigrant from Russia, and his mother, the former Anne Spott, 
helped resettle refugees after World War II, during which numerous 
family members of the couple were killed. After graduating in 1966 from 
Brandeis University, Michael Ratner earned his juris doctorate from 
Columbia Law School. He took a year off of law school to work for the 
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund on a Baltimore school 
desegregation case. He then clerked in Manhattan for Judge Constance 
Baker Motley, the first African American woman to serve on the federal 
bench.
  In 1971, Ratner joined the Center for Constitutional Rights, a 
nonprofit organization headquartered in Manhattan. From 1984 to 1990, 
he served as the Center's legal director and became the Center's 
president in 2002 serving until 2014. He was also president of the 
National Lawyers Guild and of the European Center for Constitutional 
and Human Rights.
  Ratner brought cases for war crimes and other human rights violations 
all over the world. Seeking to hold Bush administration officials 
accountable for torture, he filed cases under the Universal 
Jurisdiction principle in international courts, including in Germany, 
Spain, Canada, Switzerland, and France.
  Ratner also oversaw litigation that successfully challenged New York 
City's stop-and-frisk policing tactic.
  Under his leadership, the Center for Constitutional Rights was the 
first human rights organization to stand up for the human rights of 
Guantanamo detainees. Ratner was a founding member of the Guantanamo 
Bay Bar Association which grew to include more than 500 attorneys. This 
Association provided pro bono representation to prisoners at 
Guantanamo--one of the largest mass defense efforts in U.S. history. 
Michael acted as counsel in the landmark case Rasul v. Bush, which was 
the first successful Guantanamo case in the United States Supreme 
Court.
  He is survived by his wife, Karen Ranucci, a video producer; his 
children, Jake and Ana; his sister Ellen and his brother Bruce.
  Mr. Speaker, we ask that all our colleagues join us in honoring the 
life and work of Attorney Michael Ratner. He will truly be missed, but 
he will live on through the work of the countless social justice 
lawyers and activists he inspired.

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