[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 93 (Friday, May 27, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E560-E561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE EXTRAORDINARY CAREER OF JUDGE CHARLES PRICE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 27, 2022

  Ms. SEWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary 
accomplishments of legal scholar, attorney, jurist, and public servant, 
Judge Charles Price.
  A native of Alabama's 7th Congressional District, Judge Price is a 
graduate of Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama. Upon graduation, 
he served six years in the United States Army--three years with the 
Green Beret Special Forces and three years with the 82nd Airborne 
Division. After discharge, he continued to serve his country by joining 
the United States Army Reserve. Retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, Judge 
Advocate General's Corps, he received numerous Meritorious Service 
Medals, awards, and commendations for his faithful service to our 
country.
  Judge Price continued his education at Virginia Union University in 
Richmond, Virginia, before earning his law degree with honors from the 
George Washington School of Law in Washington, D.C. After completing 
his education, he began his legal career in the Civil Division at the 
Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
  Moving back to his home state of Alabama, in 1973, Judge Price became 
the Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alabama. The following 
year, he made history, becoming the first Black District Attorney for 
Escambia County and the only Black district attorney in the country. 
Showing his skill as a legal scholar and jurist, Judge Price went on to 
serve as the Deputy District Attorney for Montgomery County in 1975 
before entering the private practice in 1978.
  Reentering public service in 1982, Judge Price was appointed 
Assistant Municipal Judge for the City of Montgomery. Continuing to 
break down barriers, Judge Price made history again in 1983 after 
Governor George Wallace appointed him as Montgomery County Circuit 
Judge, making him the first Black person to hold the position in 
Montgomery County. After serving for one year, he won the election to 
his first six-year term in 1984, winning reelection in 1990 and 1996. 
Judge Price retired after 32 years on the bench on January 9, 2015.
  Outside of his career in the courtroom, Judge Price expanded his 
legacy into the classroom serving as an adjunct professor of Political 
Science and Criminal Justice at Alabama State University, adjunct 
professor of law at Jones School of Law and at the University of 
Alabama Law School, and member of the Board of Trustees at Tuskegee 
University. He has two honorary doctorates; one for law from the 
University of West Alabama in 2001 and the other in Christian 
Humanities from the Global Evangelical Christian College and Seminary 
in 2005.
  As a vibrant member of his community, Judge Price is a proud member 
of the St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church in Montgomery, 
where he serves as a steward and Sunday school teacher. His civic 
affiliations include Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Phi Boule 
Fraternity, Inc., President of the Montgomery Trial Lawyers 
Association, President of the Alabama Circuit Judge's Association, 
member of the National Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar 
Association, the Alabama Lawyers Association, the Montgomery County Bar 
Association, and the Capital City Bar Association. Judge Price has also 
served as president of the Alabama Circuit Judges Association and 
Presiding Judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit.
  Known for his fairness, integrity, and dedication to the law, Judge 
Price has received numerous awards and honors, including the 
prestigious 1997 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr.

[[Page E561]]

Humanitarian Award in 1998, Attorney Johnnie Cochran Soaring Eagle 
Award, and the Ernestine S. Sapp Award presented by the Black Law 
Students Association (BALSA) at the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law in 
2008. He is also the recipient of the 2000 National Bar Association's 
Raymond Pace Alexander Award and in 2006 the Association's Wiley 
Branton Award. In 2009, the Montgomery County Court House was dedicated 
as the Phelps-Price Justice Center in memory of Judge Joseph Phelps and 
in honor of Judge Price. That same year he received the Thurgood 
Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the Imperial Council of the 
Prince Hall Shriners.
  On a personal note, Judge Price has always been a trusted mentor and 
source of wise counsel and wisdom. His daughter Susan and I were 
college schoolmates at Princeton. I am so grateful for the way his 
family embraced me as one of their own. As a trailblazer and legal 
icon, Judge Price is a true inspiration and admiration for so many of 
us. Congratulations to Judge Price for your significant contributions 
to the City of Montgomery and the State of Alabama.
  On behalf of Alabama's 7th Congressional District, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in recognizing the extraordinary career of a 
legal powerhouse, Judge Price, for his decades of service to the State 
of Alabama and this nation.

                          ____________________