[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE LATE CHIEF JUSTICE EARNEST A. FINNEY, JR.

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, sadly, South Carolina lost 
a trailblazer with the death, Sunday, of Chief Justice Ernest A. 
Finney, Jr.
  Justice Finney started his storied career in public service as an 
educator and then went on to become a renowned civil rights attorney 
and was South Carolina's first African-American chief justice since 
Reconstruction.
  My first judicial commitment as a State senator was for Justice 
Finney, after meeting him with former Congressman John Napier, who had 
been my classmate in law school.
  A graduate of Claflin University and South Carolina State University 
School of Law, the justice was elected to the South Carolina House of 
Representatives in 1972. As a member of the house, he made history as a 
founder of the Legislative Black Caucus. He served as the first caucus 
chairman.
  In 1976, the justice was elected the first African-American circuit 
court judge. In 1985, he became the State's first African-American 
supreme court justice since Reconstruction. Justice Finney became chief 
justice in 1994.
  South Carolina is grateful for the life and service of Justice 
Finney. We lift up his family and friends in our thoughts and prayers 
during this difficult time.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.

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