[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 43 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1070-H1071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HAROLD L. MURPHY FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 532) to designate the Federal building and United States
courthouse located at 600 East First Street in Rome, Georgia, as the
``Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 532
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Judge Harold L. Murphy was born in Felton, Georgia, in
1927.
(2) He attended West Georgia College before serving in the
United States Navy during the closing years of World War II.
(3) He resumed his studies at the University of Mississippi
and the University of Georgia School of Law, where he
graduated in 1949.
(4) He began a law practice in Haralson County, Georgia,
and in 1950 was elected to the Georgia House of
Representatives as the youngest Member at the time.
(5) Judge Murphy served five consecutive terms before
stepping down in 1961 to focus on practicing law.
(6) In 1971, Judge Murphy was appointed by Governor Jimmy
Carter to the Superior Court for the Tallapoosa Judicial
Circuit, and following his election in 1976, President Carter
nominated Judge Murphy to the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia.
(7) Judge Murphy was confirmed by the United States Senate
on July 28, 1977.
(8) For 45 years, he served his country on the Federal
bench and became an acclaimed jurist and legal icon with a
stellar reputation that extended far beyond Georgia.
(9) He always displayed a quick wit and a keen sense of
humor, was kind and empathetic, and treated all those who
appeared before him with courtesy and respect.
(10) Judge Murphy worked tirelessly and carried a full
docket until the age of 90, when he took senior judge status
in the Northern District of Georgia.
(11) He continued to preside over cases until his death on
December 28, 2022.
(12) Judge Murphy received many professional awards and
recognitions, including from the State Bar of Georgia and the
University of Georgia School of Law.
(13) In 2014, Alabama State University renamed its graduate
school after Judge Murphy in recognition of his landmark
ruling in Knight v. Alabama, a long-running case that the
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals asked him to handle
involving the vestiges of racial segregation then present in
the Alabama University System.
(14) Above all else, Judge Murphy was a loving and devoted
husband and father--and a strong role model.
[[Page H1071]]
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.
The Federal building and United States courthouse located
at 600 East First Street in Rome, Georgia, shall be known and
designated as the ``Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and
United States Courthouse''.
SEC. 3. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Federal building
and United States courthouse referred to in section 2 shall
be deemed to be a reference to the ``Harold L. Murphy Federal
Building and United States Courthouse''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Van Orden). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro) and the gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr. Cohen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
to include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 532.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill honors Judge Harold L. Murphy, a former judge
of the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia, by naming the Federal building and United States Courthouse in
Rome, Georgia, after him.
After being nominated to the United States District Court by
President Jimmy Carter, Judge Murphy served on the Federal bench for 45
years. It is fitting that we honor the late Judge Murphy by naming this
courthouse after him.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I also support this legislation. Just about
anything Jimmy Carter did, he did right. This imprimatur about Mr.
Murphy's serving on the bench was obviously a good one. He spent those
45 years there.
He was the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher. He attended the
University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia School of Law.
He was the youngest member elected to the Georgia House of
Representatives, serving five terms there before he was appointed a
superior court judge by then-Governor Jimmy Carter. After Mr. Carter
was elected President, he nominated Judge Murphy to serve as the
Northern District Federal judge.
Judge Murphy remained on the bench until 2017 when he took senior
status. Judge Murphy remained an active senior judge until his death at
the age of 95.
Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation. I urge my colleagues to do
the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Georgia (Ms. Greene) to speak on her bill.
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my
bill, H.R. 532, to designate the Federal building and United States
Courthouse located at 600 East First Street in Rome, Georgia, as the
Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
This bill honors a man who devoted his life to the service and
protection of our Nation, Judge Harold Murphy.
Born in Felton, Georgia, in 1927, Judge Murphy attended West Georgia
College before serving in the Navy toward the end of World War II. He
resumed his studies at the University of Mississippi and the University
of Georgia School of Law where he graduated in 1949. He began a law
practice in Haralson County, Georgia, and in 1950 was elected to the
Georgia House of Representatives as the youngest member at the time.
Judge Murphy served five consecutive terms before stepping down in
1961 to focus on practicing law. In 1971, Judge Murphy was appointed by
Governor Jimmy Carter to the Superior Court for the Tallapoosa Judicial
Circuit, and following his election in 1976, Mr. Carter nominated Judge
Murphy to the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 1977.
For 45 years he served his country on the Federal bench and became an
acclaimed jurist and legal icon with a stellar reputation that extended
far beyond Georgia. He always displayed a quick wit and a keen sense of
humor. Judge Murphy once subpoenaed a talking myna bird who had
witnessed a store robbery to testify in court.
He was kind and empathetic and treated all those who appeared before
him with courtesy and respect.
Judge Murphy's congeniality was only surpassed by his fairness and
prudential impartiality. In fact, he is the only judge who was known to
receive Christmas cards from inmates in prison that Judge Murphy had
himself put away. He was so excruciatingly fair and impartial that
during one case, he even talked a defendant out of a guilty plea.
Judge Murphy worked tirelessly and carried a full docket until the
age of 90 when he took senior judge status in the Northern District of
Georgia. He continued to preside over cases until his death on December
28, 2022.
Judge Murphy received many professional awards and recognitions,
including from the State Bar of Georgia and the University of Georgia
School of Law.
In 2014, Alabama State University renamed its graduate school after
Judge Murphy in recognition of his landmark ruling in Knight v.
Alabama, a long-running case that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
asked him to handle involving the vestiges of racial segregation then
present in the University of Alabama System.
Above all else, Judge Murphy was a loving and devoted husband and
father, and a strong role model who made everyone who knew him in
northwest Georgia proud.
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, Judge Murphy showed that people can rise to
certain levels and do things where he was recognized by Alabama State
University, an HBCU, by naming their graduate school for him, and I
guess it related to that particular case where he got the case by
interchange.
Moreover, going almost to 95 years old speaks to the fact that
somebody can be even older than 81 and can still do their job for the
Federal Government in a good way.
Otherwise, I support the bill greatly, I appreciate Ms. Greene
bringing it, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. In closing,
let me offer further support to this bill which certainly recognizes
Judge Murphy's service to our country by naming this Federal building
after him. I certainly am encouraged by my colleague, Ms. Greene's,
sponsorship of the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 532.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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