[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 100 (Friday, June 15, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JUDGE JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 15, 2018

  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of 
Judge Joan Bernard Armstrong, the first woman elected to serve as a 
judge in Louisiana and the first African-American to serve as chief 
judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, who died on June 9, 2018 
at the age of 77.
  In 2011, Judge Armstrong announced her retirement from the bench 
after 37 years, which made her the longest-serving judge in Louisiana 
at the time. When Judge Armstrong was first elected to the bench in 
Orleans Parish Juvenile Court in 1974, she was the first African-
American woman elected judge in Louisiana.
  Judge Armstrong graduated from Xavier University in 1963. She taught 
school by day and attended law school at night to earn her J.D. from 
Loyola University School of Law in 1967. She was elected without 
opposition to the appeals court in 1984, as the court's first female 
jurist. She became chief judge in 2003.
  During her tenure on the bench, Judge Armstrong was chairwoman of the 
Louisiana Conference of Court of Appeal Judges from 2004 to 2005 and 
was also a member of the Judiciary Budgetary Board; Judicial Ethics 
Committee; Judicial Human Resources Committee; Louisiana Commission on 
Law Enforcement and the Administration of Criminal Justice.
  Judge Armstrong served as a member of several organizations and 
received several honors during her long career: Loyola University Board 
of Trustees, 1984 to 1990; Adjunct Professor of Law, Southern 
University Law Center, 1985 to 2003; American Judges Association 
Education Committee, 1990 to 1991; Grambling State University Dr. 
Martin Luther King Criminal Justice Center, First Board of Directors; 
President, Community Relations Council of Greater New Orleans, 1972 to 
1974; President, Louisiana League of Good Government, 1972 to 1974, and 
others.
  Judge Armstrong lived an extraordinary life that cannot be 
categorized. Her legacy will forever be a part of the city of New 
Orleans and her dedication to community embodies the spirit of the 
city. We cannot match the sacrifices made by Judge Armstrong, but 
surely, we can try to match her sense of service. We cannot match her 
courage, but we can strive to match her devotion.
  A widow, Judge Armstrong is survived by two children: a son, Reverend 
David Armstrong; a daughter, Anna Armstrong Alexander; and two 
grandchildren. She is also survived by a sister, Florence Bernard 
James.
  Mr. Speaker, I celebrate the life and legacy of Judge Joan Bernard 
Armstrong.

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