[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 201 (Thursday, December 20, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO GARY FRIEDMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2018

  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Judge Gary 
T. Friedman. Judge Friedman retired this year following 35 years of 
judicial excellence on the Kern County Superior Court.
  Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Judge Friedman's future 
in law was foreshadowed by his keen interest in watching his father, an 
oilman, negotiate with attorneys for the family business. He found the 
idea of helping people to resolve disputes compelling, and committed 
himself to his studies at Garces Memorial High School and later 
Bakersfield College while concurrently working for both his father's 
oil company as well as shepherding on his family's farm. Upon 
completing his studies at Bakersfield College, Judge Friedman furthered 
his education at the University of California, Santa Barbara and later 
earned his law degree at the University of California, Berkeley. After 
passing the bar exam, he served as a deputy district attorney, worked 
in various civil law firms, and became the first federal magistrate 
judge in Kern County before serving on the Superior Court.
  Over his career, Judge Friedman heard a number of cases, many of 
which stretched on for months. In fact, he bears the unique distinction 
of presiding over the longest gang trial in Kern County history. Other 
cases he heard encompassed the worst of humanity--criminal cases that 
inflicted incredible and lasting trauma to victims and their families. 
Yet through each trial he presided over, Judge Friedman made everyone 
in his courtroom feel comfortable in even the tensest of moments, using 
genuine kindness and a gentle sense of self-deprecating humor to keep 
litigants and witnesses at ease. Judge Friedman treated each person who 
entered his courtroom with all the dignity and respect owed to them in 
the court of law and was as tenacious as he was ethical in his dogged 
pursuit of the equal administration of law and justice. These qualities 
are all the hallmarks of a great judge, and perhaps even moreso, all 
the hallmarks of a great person.
  There are not many judges like Judge Gary Friedman, and while it is 
the County's loss to see him leave his post on the Superior Court, it 
comforts me to know that he plans to transition to practicing civil law 
and will remain a fixture in the Kern County legal community. I have 
had the privilege of getting to know Gary and his wife, Gloria, over 
the years as members of Bakersfield Downtown Rotary, and I am looking 
forward to many more spirited conversations about his days, as he puts 
it, ``toiling in the vineyards of justice'' for years to come. As he 
embarks on this new adventure, I wish Judge Friedman all the best and 
thank him for his immense work in service to our community.

                          ____________________