[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16942-16943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM L. OSTEEN, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HOWARD COBLE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2004

  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, recently, the Honorable William L. Osteen, 
Sr., U.S. District Court Judge for the Middle District of North 
Carolina, received the Greensboro Bar Association Distinguished Service 
Award. I have known Bill Osteen for many years. Bill is an outstanding 
jurist, and I know of no more deserving recipient for this prestigious 
award.
  As an aside, I had the honor of serving as Bill's Assistant United 
States Attorney, while he served as the United States Attorney for the 
Middle District of North Carolina in the late 60s and early 70s.
  Mr. Stephen Millikin, from the law firm Smith Moore LLP, delivered a 
wonderful speech at the presentation of the Greensboro Bar Association 
Distinguished Service Award. The Sixth District is proud of Bill 
Osteen, and I urge my colleagues to review the remarks made by my good 
friend, Steve Millikin.
  I have referred to Steve as the ``Bob Dole of the Sixth District of 
North Carolina'' because, not unlike the great Senator from Kansas, 
Steve is an outstanding advocate for America's veterans. I hope you 
will enjoy Steve's remarks.

 Remarks by Stephen P. Millikin at the Presentation of the Greensboro 
Bar Association Distinguished Service Award to the Honorable William L. 
                      Osteen, Sr., April 15, 2004

       The Greensboro Bar Association is pleased to present its 
     Distinguished Service Award for the year 2004 to a person 
     whose accomplishments in this community and throughout the 
     state are well known, and whose strength of character and 
     devotion to duty are universally admired. This person has 
     conducted himself among us in such a manner as to be a 
     splendid example for all to follow.
       The Honorable William L. Osteen, Sr., hereinafter ``Bill'' 
     or ``Bill Osteen'', was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on 
     July 15, 1930. He is the son of John Luke Osteen and Ruth 
     Tatum Osteen. His father was the well known and highly 
     respected first U.S. Probation Officer and the first Chief 
     U.S. Probation Officer for the Middle District of North 
     Carolina. He was a most jovial and friendly man by nature. 
     Bill's mother was a gentle giant of a lady though small of 
     physical stature. She died at an early age, but not before 
     she had a very strong influence upon Bill who promised his 
     mother that he would never take a drink of alcohol. Bill has 
     remained loyal to that promise throughout his life. Bill has 
     one brother, John Osteen, who is a graduate of West Point. 
     John made a career of the Army and retired as a major 
     general. He now resides in Brevard.
       Bill married Joanne Bennett Snow on May 16, 1959. Joanne is 
     the daughter of John and Dorothy Snow. John Snow was an 
     attorney. Joanne attended Duke University where she graduated 
     with honors in Economics. Bill and Joanne have three 
     children: William L. Osteen, Jr., born in 1960, who is a 
     practicing attorney in Greensboro; John Osteen, born in 1962, 
     who now lives in Long Beach, California; and Robert Osteen, 
     born in 1966, who now lives near Charleston, South Carolina. 
     Bill Osteen has a family of which any man would be proud.
       Bill Osteen graduated from Guilford High School in 1948, 
     from Guilford College in 1953, and from the University of 
     North Carolina School of Law in 1956. Throughout, Bill was an 
     outstanding student. After obtaining his law degree and 
     license to practice law, he was associated from 1956 to 1958 
     with W.H. McElwee, Jr., a prominent attorney in North 
     Wilkesboro. From 1958 to 1959, he practiced law as a sole 
     practitioner in Greensboro. From 1959 to 1969, Bill was a 
     partner in the law firm of Booth and Osteen in Greensboro. 
     From 1969 to 1974 he served by appointment of the President 
     of the United States as the U.S. Attorney for the Middle 
     District of North Carolina. From 1974 to 1991 he was senior 
     partner in the successive Greensboro law firms of Osteen & 
     Adams; Osteen, Adams & Tilley; Osteen, Adams, Tilley & Wall; 
     and Osteen, Adams & Osteen. He was appointed U.S. District 
     Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina by President 
     George Bush on June 18, 1991. He has served and continues to 
     serve in that high office with great distinction.
       Bill has been active with the North Carolina Bar 
     Association, the North Carolina State Bar, and the Greensboro 
     Bar Association. With the North Carolina Bar Association he 
     was a member of and subsequently chairman of the North 
     Carolina Sentencing Commission, created by the North Carolina 
     legislature to write a suitable sentencing structure for 
     North Carolina. For the North Carolina State Bar, he was a 
     member of the State Bar Council from the 18th Judicial 
     District; a member of the Grievance Committee; a member of 
     the Professionalism Committee; a member of the Legal Aid to 
     Indigents Committee; and a member of the Special Committee to 
     Re-Write the Disciplinary Procedures Manual for Lawyers. He 
     was president of the Greensboro Bar Association in 1989-1990 
     and he served for a long period of time as a member of its 
     Executive Committee. Bill also served as president of the 
     18th Judicial District Bar in 1985. He is a permanent member 
     of the Federal Judicial Conference for the Fourth Circuit; a 
     past member of the Federal Bar Association; and a Fellow of 
     the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the 
     University of North Carolina Law Alumni Association and a 
     member of the Guilford College Alumni Association. He has 
     been a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of 
     North Carolina and a member of the Board of Visitors of Wake 
     Forest University School of Law. Bill is admitted to practice 
     in the North Carolina Supreme Court; the North Carolina Court 
     of Appeals; the United States District Courts for the Middle, 
     Western and Eastern Districts of North Carolina; the United 
     States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit; and the United 
     States Tax Court.
       Bill was elected to the North Carolina Legislature in 1960 
     and again in 1962. He served as Minority Leader in both 
     sessions. He was appointed Chairman of the Guilford County 
     Economic Opportunity Council by the county commissioners in 
     1963. He was appointed by the Greensboro City Council as a 
     member of the City Zoning Commission from 1964 to 1966. He 
     was appointed by the Greensboro City Council as a member of 
     and Chairman of the City Human Relations Committee from 1966 
     to 1968. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United 
     States Congress from the 6th District of North Carolina in 
     1968.
       While serving as United States District Judge, Bill has 
     served as Chairman of the Committee on Codes of Conduct of 
     the Judicial Conferences of the United States, and he has 
     served on the Advisory Committee to the Chairman of the 
     United States Sentencing Commission. He also has heard cases 
     on appeal sitting as a member of the United States Court of 
     Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
       Bill has also served in the military. He was in the United 
     States Army Reserve from 1948 to 1951, and was on active duty 
     from October 10, 1950 until December 12, 1951. He entered the 
     service as a private and was a Staff Sergeant at time of 
     discharge.
       Bill has enjoyed participating in many athletic activities. 
     He has excelled in all sports that he has undertaken. He has 
     been a competitive golf player. He was number one on the 
     Guilford College golf team. His prowess on the tennis court 
     is legendary. While in law school, he reportedly could out-
     punt the starting punter for the University of North Carolina 
     football team. To illustrate his ability and agility, 
     reportedly he earlier has been able to grab his left leg with 
     his right hand and then jump through that circle with his 
     other foot and leg, a trick few people are willing to 
     attempt.
       Bill has been highly successful in all that he has 
     undertaken. As an excellent practicing attorney, U.S. 
     Attorney and U.S. District Court Judge, Bill has enjoyed a 
     reputation for honesty, professionalism, ethical

[[Page 16943]]

     conduct, and a dedication to exerting a best effort and 
     obtaining a best result. Bill has an innate and keen sense of 
     right and wrong. He has always acted with diligence and 
     competence. He has been fair and judicious in his approach to 
     all questions and eloquent in his expression of thought. As 
     U.S. District Judge he has been appropriately firm and 
     authoritative but also compassionate.
       Bill was commissioned a Judge of the U.S. District Court in 
     a ceremony in the Federal Courthouse in Greensboro on 
     September 27, 1991. He has proven to be true beyond any 
     reasonable doubt the things that were said about him and that 
     were predicted for him at that time. In many ways and 
     instances he has exceeded all expectations then expressed.
       At the commissioning ceremony, Bill Davis on behalf of the 
     State Bar stated: ``I think that this is an absolutely 
     perfect appointment.''
       George Mast on behalf of the N.C. Bar Association said: 
     ``Bill stands tall in the forest of the legal community. What 
     he has been speaks with more eloquence than anything I can 
     say. His appointment tells us that our system is working; 
     that someone of (his) . . . quality and caliber and 
     distinction, honesty and integrity can be appointed as a 
     District Judge.''
       Ralph Stockton for the ABA said: ``I tell you, it's hard 
     for me to imagine anyone more qualified to assume the role of 
     United States District Judge in the Middle District than Bill 
     Osteen.''
       ``Our investigation . . . specifically in Bill's case, has 
     to do with professional qualifications . . . in the area of 
     professional competence encompassing the qualities of 
     intellectual ability and capacity, judgment, writing and 
     analytical ability, knowledge of the law, and breadth and 
     depth of legal experience. Integrity, our number one 
     hallmark, includes the candidate's character and honesty in 
     legal and personal relations. Judicial temperament speaks for 
     itself and includes the candidate's open-mindedness, 
     decisiveness, freedom from bias, and commitment to equal 
     justice. In the course of our comprehensive investigation of 
     Bill Osteen . . . I am pleased to report . . . that the ABA 
     Committee reported to the Attorney General of the United 
     States and subsequently to the Senate Judiciary Committee 
     it's unanimous opinion that Bill Osteen is well-qualified for 
     this appointment. This is the highest rating the Committee 
     gives.''
       Bill Osteen, Jr., justifiably proud of his father and law 
     partner, but being completely honest and candid, stated: 
     ``There was only comfort through my father's presence, his 
     love and his support. And he's been there for each member of 
     this family every time it was needed . . . But his 
     magnificence as a father is probably only equaled by his 
     great ability and competence as a lawyer . . . Each time he 
     has taken a client--and I've practiced with him for four 
     years now, but I'm confident that this was true for his 
     entire 30 years. Each time he's taken a client, he has 
     brought to the representation honor, integrity, diligence and 
     confidence that are not to be found very often. There have 
     been a lot of big cases, a lot of outstanding cases, and 
     there have been a lot of small cases. But regardless of 
     whether a case was big or small, or whether it was important 
     to society or whether it was important only to an individual, 
     he has brought the same honor and integrity to each case; and 
     I'm proud to have practiced with him for the time that we 
     have.''
       The Honorable Eugene Gordon commented: ``Bill . . . brings 
     to this court a vast experience gained from years of private 
     practice and an illustrious career in this district as United 
     States Attorney . . . Also, his legislative service and his 
     community service can't be overlooked. Those services are 
     very valuable for one who is called on to assume 
     responsibilities as a member of the judiciary is . . . The 
     efficiency and goals of the offices which he has served were 
     never in jeopardy; it was always done well. He has reflected 
     well upon himself, and he has served this area with 
     distinction . . . Bill is a good person, with a passion for 
     decency. He possesses no hatred, no jealousy, no envy or ill 
     will that I have ever discerned. The truth is simply this. He 
     is just a hard person to dislike.''
       ``It is our good fortune that one of Bill Osteen's vision, 
     ability and character has come forward for active service on 
     the bench . . .''
       The Honorable Richard Erwin stated: ``Judge Osteen comes to 
     the federal bench as well prepared for the tasks awaiting him 
     as any judge I know. He has served as United States Attorney 
     for this district; in private practice he has represented 
     defendants charged with criminal offenses; and also 
     represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil actions 
     before the federal courts . . . Judge Osteen also possesses 
     an even-handed disposition that we call judicial 
     temperament.''
       The Honorable Frank Bullock commented: ``I don't believe 
     that President Bush has made a better judicial appointment 
     during his term in office . . . Bill Osteen should be a judge 
     of this court. He has dedicated his life to service, to his 
     family, to his church, to his state and to his nation. He has 
     served in the legislature and as United States Attorney and 
     as an officer of the state bar. I am confident that there is 
     no better trial lawyer in this district and in this state and 
     probably in this circuit or in this nation.''
       The Honorable Woody Tilley said this: ``But not only is 
     Bill Osteen the best trial lawyer I've ever seen . . . he 
     also is one of the best people that i have ever known.''
       These were not empty accolades or over statements. If they 
     missed the mark in any respect, it is because they understate 
     the exemplary qualities with which Bill Osteen has been 
     endowed and the principles which he has invariably followed.
       The oath taken by Judge Osteen at his commissioning in part 
     is this: ``I, William Lindsay Osteen, Sr., do solemnly swear 
     that I will administer justice without respect to persons and 
     do equal justice to the poor and to the rich; and that I will 
     faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all duties 
     incumbent upon me as United States District Judge under the 
     Constitution and laws of the United States . . .''
       Bill Osteen has been as faithful to this oath as he has 
     been to the promise he made to his mother years earlier.
       Judge Osteen, the Greensboro Bar Association takes pride 
     and pleasure in presenting to you the highest honor it can 
     bestow, its Distinguished Service Award. This award is in 
     recognition of and is in deep appreciation for your having 
     demonstrated in many ways your deep devotion and constant 
     commitment to the honorable practice of law and to the better 
     administration of justice; for your having made enduring 
     contributions to the administration of justice and to the 
     public good through unselfish service to the community and to 
     the legal profession; for your adherence at all times to the 
     highest ethical standards of professionalism; and for your 
     thereby setting by example a standard of conduct and service 
     to which the members of the Greensboro Bar Association might 
     well aspire.

                          ____________________