[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17416-17417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO RICHARD BRANDITZ IGLEHART

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise here on the floor of the United States 
House of Representatives in the Capital of this country to pay tribute 
to one of California's most beloved public servants: Alameda County 
Superior Court Judge Richard B. Iglehart, who passed away in Istanbul 
on July 2 while attending a State Department-sponsored conference. He 
was just 60 years old. He was a friend, a brother, a colleague, and he 
leaves behind so many wonderful people. He is survived by his beloved 
wife Judith Iglehart; his son, Matthew Iglehart; his stepsons, 
Christopher and Scott; his sister Barbara; his brother-in-law Hans; 
Alan Iglehart, a brother; six nephews and nieces, aunts and cousins, 
and his former wife, Dee Iglehart.
  I met Dick in Santa Clara Law School. Before that, he had gone to 
Piedmont High School and UC Berkeley where he was a Beta and played 
rugby. He served in the Army in Germany as an officer in the 3rd 
Armored Cavalry. After graduating, he went to Santa Clara Law School 
where I met him.

                              {time}  1945

  He ended up being a career prosecutor who became the chief assistant 
district attorney in Alameda and also in San Franciso Counties. He 
became the chief assistant for the criminal division in the California 
attorney general's office under Attorney General John van de Camp. Dick 
also served as the counsel to the Assembly Public Safety Committee. He 
was a California district attorneys association lobbyist and was an 
Assembly Fellow.
  He worked unceasingly to rid California and the Nation of assault 
weapons. He was instrumental in helping pass legislation lowering the 
penalties on marijuana possession. He changed the laws, making it 
easier for child sexual assault victims to testify in court. He was an 
expert on sentencing procedures, the California three strikes laws, 
Proposition 36, and serial killers, and an early champion for using DNA 
as a testing in criminal trials.
  He taught at Hastings, and he also gave courses for continuing 
education of the bar. He lectured at the FBI Academy, Berkley Center 
for Study of Law and Society, and he often spoke at the local high 
schools.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), 
who is in the district that Dick is from so she can also pay tribute. 
While she is coming to the microphone, I will say that while we are 
here on the floor there is a memorial service in her district at 
Piedmont at the Piedmont Community Church.
  Ms. LEE. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and just say 
tonight that I join with the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) and 
all of our colleagues in remembering and celebrating the life of a 
great human being, a giant, a constituent, my friend, Richard Iglehart.
  While serving as a member of the Assembly Public Safety Committee in 
the California legislature, I had the real privilege of working very 
closely with Dick when he was chief counsel to the committee. And I 
came to rely on his thoughtfulness, his fairness and his wisdom. When 
working with Dick, I was always deeply impressed with his ability to do 
simple things simple and he always did what he said he would do.
  Dick's passionate and unshakable belief in our system of justice 
provided the foundation for everything that he accomplished in his 
legal career. His vast knowledge of the law and our government earned 
him the respect of defenders and prosecutors, liberals and 
conservatives, Democrats and Republicans. Dick met people where they 
were and brought them along. He took the time to help them see things 
from a different perspective or to shed light on a complicated subject. 
He was a true mentor, and it was my great and very good fortune to have 
been really one of his students. I will miss his kind words of 
encouragement and support.
  One could not know Dick without knowing of his love and his devotion 
to

[[Page 17417]]

his wife, Judy, and his family. He was a good friend to so many of us. 
Words cannot express my sympathy and sorrow at his untimely death. Let 
us honor and celebrate Dick's legacy by rededicating ourselves to the 
ideals and the values that he championed. My thoughts and prayers are 
with the Iglehart family this evening as the memorial service is taking 
place at this very moment.
  He will always hold a special place in my heart and in the heart of 
many.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much. We would 
like to say to the family, we love you, Dick. We will see you around 
and give a hug to our friends in heaven, and we will keep the torch 
burning.
  Christine Pelosi said Dick taught us to put a human face on the 
criminal justice system for terrified and traumatized victims and 
witnesses, while understanding that today's defendants could well be 
yesterday's or tomorrow's victims. Dick had the legal acumen, rock-
solid integrity, and sense of humor that helped us address those sad 
realities, and to manage the pressure to succeed as prosecutors and 
grow as legal professionals. But Dick was more than just a boss ``he 
was a great big bear of a man who always stuck up for us young 
prosecutors, particularly the women, when judges of opponents tried to 
rough us up. Having his confidence in us made us all the more able to 
successfully prosecute the tough cases.''
  Attorney Michael Weiss said: ``He asked me if I had ever thought 
about being a prosecutor. I told him that I had briefly entertained the 
idea. He told me that he had spent nearly his entire career in law as a 
prosecutor and that he couldn't remember a day when he didn't look 
forward to going to work.'' ``My days working for Dick were some of my 
best. And to this day, his words continued to inspire me: to find a 
quality in my work that makes it something I look forward to, 
everyday.''

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