[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 149 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF JUSTICE CRUZ REYNOSO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. J. LUIS CORREA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2023

  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the exceptional 
achievements of former Associate Justice of the California Supreme 
Court Cruz Reynoso.
  Cruz Reynoso was born in Brea, California and was raised in La Habra, 
California. By the age of 11, he led a successful petition to have his 
rural community receive deliveries from the postman.
  Upon discovering the power in using his words to right the wrongs he 
witnessed, Judge Reynoso set off on a path as a civil rights advocate.
  His high school art teacher saw his talents and convinced him to 
attend Fullerton College. There his speech teacher recommended Reynoso 
be chairman of the first freshman class meeting. He was elected as the 
freshman class president and then the following spring, he was elected 
the college's first Latino student body president.
  Prior to his graduation in June of 1951, he was offered a scholarship 
to attend Pomona College. After graduating from Pomona College in 1953, 
he enlisted in the United States Armed Forces, serving in the 
Counterintelligence Corps.
  Following his enlistment, he enrolled in UC Berkeley's School of Law 
and graduated in 1958.
  From 1958 to 1959, he studied constitutional law through a Ford 
Foundation fellowship at the National University of Mexico and after 
passing the bar, he opened a private practice in El Centro, California.
  His full-time job was teaching law at the University of New Mexico, 
becoming one of the first Latino law professors in the country.
  He continued to make his mark in the legal field by being appointed 
to the California Court of Appeal in 1976 and the California Supreme 
Court in 1982 as an Associate Justice.
  From 1991 to 2001, he became a law professor at the University of 
California, Los Angeles.
  In 2001, he was rewarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 
highest civilian honor, by President Clinton. The same year, he became 
a Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of California, Davis.
  His wife of 53 years, Jeannene, died in 2007. He remarried, and he 
and his wife Elaine lived in Davis, where he enjoyed the time spent 
with his 17 grandchildren. In May 2021, Cruz Reynoso passed away.
  In April 2013, Fullerton College Centennial Celebration saluted the 
achievements of Cruz Reynoso as an inaugural member of its Hall of 
Fame.
  Today, Fullerton College renamed its Student Services Building as 
Cruz Reynoso Hall to honor Judge Reynoso, a Hornet alumnus and the 
first Latino Supreme Court Justice.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring and celebrating the 
commitments and accomplishments of Judge Cruz Reynoso.

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