[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5937-5938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF JOHNNIE COCHRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise with much sadness, to mourn the 
passing of a great American, and one of my dear friends, Johnnie 
Cochran. At a time like this, I find myself very conflicted. On one 
hand I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and confidant, 
a man who I admired and respected before I came to know him well, and 
over the most recent years of our friendship as we worked together on 
the redevelopment of Harlem through the Upper Manhattan Empowerment 
Zone, which Johnnie chaired, he is a man I would come to love.
  On the other hand, I feel great pride and gratefulness in the fact 
that I had the opportunity to experience his friendship. Johnnie was of 
one of the greatest legal crusaders of our generation, and hands down, 
one of the best lawyers I have ever known. Johnnie had a personality 
that could light up a room. Even his opponents had to acknowledge his 
charm.
  He argued a case with a style and flare that many had never seen in a 
courtroom. Indeed, most may never see a persona quite like his again. 
However, Johnnie always remained true to himself. In the legal 
profession, lawyers often wear a mask. They adopt a sort of legal alter 
ego. Johnnie won cases being himself, and that is why he was able to 
connect with jurors, and the public at large, time and time again.
  As we all know, Johnnie became recognized the world over through his 
participation in the OJ Simpson case. But anyone who knows the work of 
Johnnie Cochran knows that the case was simply a feather in his cap, 
just one more achievement in a remarkable career.
  Anyone who looks beyond the surface would see that Johnnie was not 
about celebrity clients, he was about seeking justice for those who had 
been denied it. In his portfolio of clients, one does find the OJ's and 
P. Diddys of the world, but much more than them you find the little 
guy: the accused person with no money, no voice, and no hope, and then 
you find Johnnie right there fighting for them. That was the Johnnie 
that I knew, and that is the Johnnie that everyone should know.
  Johnnie Cochran was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1937, the 
grandson of a sharecropper. His family would move west to California in 
the late 1940's, where his determined father would work his way up from 
a shipyard pipe fitter, to an insurance broker for California's leading 
Black-owned insurance company. The family would eventually settle in 
Los Angeles where Johnnie would spend the rest of his adolescence.
  Although his family's migration to California removed him from the 
Jim Crow South, the repressive form of segregation and discrimination 
that Johnnie witnessed as a young child in Louisiana never left him. 
Instead it instilled in him a deep seated commitment to seek justice 
for all people.
  Johnnie grew up wanting to be a lawyer, and he would see his dream 
through to fulfillment. After graduating from UCLA, he earned a degree 
from Loyola Law School in 1962. In the fall of 1961, during his last 
year in law school, he became the first Black law clerk in the Office 
of the City Attorney. In early 1963, he became a Deputy City Attorney.
  Though he enjoyed his work, he came to realize that most of the 
people he was prosecuting were Black men who had been severely beaten 
by police authorities during their arrests. He soon came to believe 
that something was gravely wrong with the way the justice system 
related to African American citizens, and he set out to do something 
about it.
  He would leave the City Attorney's office in the late 60's to set up 
his own practice. He would there begin his crusade of defending those 
who had been the victims of police brutality and misconduct, who in 
most cases happened to be minorities.
  Along the way he obtained justice for dozens of every day people, who 
had nowhere else to turn. He would also be the first attorney to get 
the city of Los Angeles to financially compensate victims of police 
misconduct. Without question, Johnnie's personal crusade against police 
violence brought about changes in the law enforcement systems of both 
Los Angeles and the entire United States.
  Johnnie's preoccupation with justice was not confined to situations 
where the victimization was based on race; he wanted to see justice 
done in every case. In 1992 he represented Reginald O. Denny, the white 
truck driver who was brutally beaten by a mob during the Los Angeles 
Riots. Johnnie argued that the LAPD's reluctance to enter the riot zone 
cost many people their lives, and put citizens like Denny in harm's 
way. Indeed, many argued that the riots would never have escalated to 
the level they did if police had responded sooner.
  Though everyone speaks of OJ, as far as Johnnie was concerned, it was 
the case of Geronomo Pratt that was most meaningful and important to 
him. He defended Pratt in 1972, but lost the case due to police and 
prosecutorial misconduct. However, he never gave up on Pratt.

[[Page 5938]]

  Though he had been elevated to celebrity status, representing rich 
and famous clients, he never wavered in his quest to get Pratt's 
conviction overturned. He would ultimately prevail. Pratt's murder 
conviction was overturned in May 1997. Johnnie also got the state to 
compensate Pratt $4.5 million, for the 27 years he wrongly spent behind 
bars.
  Many people were opposed to the legal arguments that Johnnie used in 
the OJ case, regarding police corruption and misconduct. However, 
Johnnie was ultimately proven right in the late 1990's when the LAPD 
was rocked by a department wide corruption scandal.
  So systemic were the problems in the LA Police Department that the 
U.S. Department of Justice would have to take over the department for 
some time. This exemplifies why Johnnie was so important. In his quest 
for justice, he revealed to society serious problems that they were 
unable or unwilling to address on their own. This is why we will miss 
him so. We in the Harlem community will especially miss the leadership 
and contributor he gave to us in his final years.
  In this time of loss however, I am heartened by two things. First is 
the fact that Johnnie's family is still here with us. His wife Dale has 
been Johnnie's loving and dedicated partner through all the highs and 
lows. Indeed, her love may have been the only thing that could render 
Johnnie defenseless, which was no easy task. He loved his children 
Jonathan, Tiffany, and Melodie dearly, and seeing them grow and become 
successful adults made him prouder than any victory he ever achieved in 
court.
  The other thing that heartens me at this time is the knowledge that 
Johnnie's legacy grows every day. In Los Angeles and in cities around 
the country, Johnnie has become something of a mythic hero, a sort of 
legal Robin Hood, and a real role model. Kids across America now not 
only dream of being like Michael Jordan, or Puff Daddy, they dream of 
becoming successful lawyers, and being like Johnnie.
  There are several young people working in my office right now. One is 
a lawyer already, and many others aspire to become one. There is no 
question in my mind that Johnnie in some way has something to do with 
that. In the end, the unseen influence Johnnie has had on the next 
generation of passionate advocates may be his greatest legacy.
  Johnnie, we will never forget you, and I know we will all meet again. 
In the meantime, we will continue the fight, for as long as justice 
reigns, so too, will your spirit live.

                          ____________________