[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 6 (Monday, January 13, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E17-E18]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING JUDGE ANDREW CARRUTHERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOAQUIN CASTRO

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 13, 2025

  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Judge Andrew 
Carruthers as he retires from the bench after more than half a century 
as a distinguished legal advocate and public servant.
  Judge Carruthers was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1945. His father, a 
minister, tended to a congregation of more than 600 worshippers at St. 
Andrew's Methodist Church, which was the largest Black Methodist church 
in Fort Worth. Despite the discrimination and segregation facing Black 
families, the young Carruthers children were surrounded by teachers, 
nurses, entrepreneurs, and other community leaders, leaving them with 
no shortage of role models.
  In 1957, his father accepted an appointment to become pastor of St. 
Paul Methodist Church in San Antonio. The new congregation was warm and 
welcoming, and San Antonio quickly became home for the Carruthers 
family. Judge Carruthers graduated from Cuney Elementary School, 
Frederick Douglass Junior High, and Highlands High School, where he 
played in the band and ran cross-country and track.

[[Page E18]]

  After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1969, 
Judge Carruthers became a program representative for the Department of 
Health, Education, and Welfare, where he tended to Houston's neediest 
people. Shortly, after, he enrolled in law school at Texas Southern 
University and later attended St. Mary's University, where he supported 
himself as a bailiff for District Judge James E. Barlow of the 186th 
District.
  After passing the bar exam, Judge Carruthers began his legal career, 
working first as an Assistant District Attorney in Bexar County and 
later for then-Texas Attorney General John Hill. He was then hired as a 
professor at Thurgood Marshall Law School, where he taught for eight 
years.
  In 1982, Judge Carruthers returned to San Antonio and opened the Law 
Offices of Carruthers and Cunningham with his wife, Willie. Their son, 
Andrew C. Carruthers was born in 1983. Judge Cunningham is also blessed 
with two daughters, Aloyce Williams and Tammye Turner.
  In 1989, Judge Carruthers was appointed Criminal Law Magistrate of 
Bexar County, a position that he would hold for the next 35 years. 
During his time as Criminal Law Magistrate, Judge Carruthers worked to 
advance the court's understanding of what it means to be competent to 
stand trial. This work is reflected in his presentations at legal 
conferences and the expansion of Bexar County's competency and sanity 
evaluation programs. Today, because of Judge Carruthers' leadership and 
innovation, the court now offers inpatient, outpatient and jail-based 
restoration programs for individuals with mental illnesses, and 
community based and residential care programs for people with 
intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  The dedication Judge Carruthers has demonstrated for the last 52 
years has been instrumental for local judicial programs. His work has 
aided many and will continue to help individuals seeking assistance. 
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to express my gratitude for Judge Andrew 
Carruthers as he celebrates his retirement.

                          ____________________