[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S5250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL E. KUNZ

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I wish to honor Mr. Michael E. Kunz for his 
54 years of extraordinary service as Clerk of Court for the U.S. 
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 1962, Mr. 
Kunz was appointed as a deputy clerk following his graduation from 
Father Judge High School in Philadelphia and went on to receive both 
his bachelor of science degree and his master of business 
administration degree from St. Joseph's University. Throughout his 
career, Mr. Kunz showed an unparalleled enthusiasm for innovation and a 
profound dedication to ensuring the accessibility of our justice system 
for all Americans. I would like to take this time to reflect on his 
service and on the example he set for those who seek to serve their 
country.
  As one of the longest serving Federal court clerks in history, Mr. 
Kunz represents the growth of the court administrative infrastructure 
and the importance of the clerk's office in the operations of the 
court. Mr. Kunz spent much of his career overseeing the expansion of 
the Eastern District's facilities in Allentown, Easton, Philadelphia, 
and Reading to accommodate a larger Federal caseload and increased 
numbers of article III judges, magistrate judges, and court employees. 
He introduced innovations that allowed the court to do its work more 
efficiently and transparently than ever before. He helped to pioneer 17 
out of the 26 nationally supported automation systems in the Federal 
judiciary, as well as advances in electronic case filing, docketing of 
cases, and fiscal management. Mr. Kunz supervised the introduction of 
the electronic courtroom; at present, 22 courtrooms in the Eastern 
District have full electronic capabilities. To ensure accuracy of court 
records, he implemented digital audio recording systems in all 
courtrooms in the Eastern District. Such systems allow litigants and 
members of the public who may not be able to order an expensive 
transcript or travel to a courthouse to access judicial information in 
an affordable, timely manner.
  Mr. Kunz demonstrated his commitment to improving the courts and 
preserving their memories by serving on a number national committees 
and advisory boards. In 1989, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist 
appointed him to the Advisory Committee to the Board of the Federal 
Judicial Center concerning the development of programs relating to the 
history of the judicial branch. Mr. Kunz served on committees 
overseeing court statistics, the development of automatic case 
management systems, changes to the decentralization of the budget and 
to the Judicial Salary Plan, and is a founding member of the Historical 
Society for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. In 1994, he received the Director's Award from the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, just one of many 
commendations he received throughout his career.
  For over 50 years Mr. Kunz has stood for equality and efficiency in 
the justice system and embodied the selfless character of a true public 
servant. On behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I want to thank 
Mr. Michael E. Kunz for his decades of service and wish him the best 
for his retirement in the years ahead.

                          ____________________