[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6926]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING JOHNNIE L. COCHRAN, JR.

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, the public may now know Johnnie L. Cochran, 
Jr., as a high-profile, superbly dressed, superstar attorney with a 
signature smile that swayed everyone he met, including many of the 
multi-million dollar clients that he represented.
  However, as a personal friend of Johnnie's, I saw another side. Yes, 
he did everything with class, style, dignity and extreme care; but in 
addition he was a warm, loving, caring, attentive friend and community 
leader.
  Johnnie Cochran was a brilliant attorney whose untimely death is a 
loss to the world. His legal genius was compared to Justice Thurgood 
Marshall, his hero and his idol; Clarence Darrow; F. Lee Bailey; 
Professor Charles Ogletree and other legendary legal scholars.
  Johnnie Cochran was an incredible human being who really cared about 
the plight of the poor and disadvantaged regardless of race, color, 
creed, or religion. Johnnie was often fond of saying, ``The clients I 
cared about the most are the No Js, the ones who nobody knows.''
  Attorney Cochran truly believed in justice for all. Even after death, 
Johnnie's legal legacy was larger than life. His funeral last week in 
Los Angeles, entitled ``Johnnie's Journey To Justice,'' was a 
celebration of his incredible life.
  The A-list of celebrity clients were among more than 5,000 admirers 
saying good-bye to their hero who fought for civil rights, police 
reform, and basic human rights for everyone.
  The Reverend William Epps, Johnnie's home pastor of the historic 
Second Baptist Church of Los Angeles, the first church that Martin 
Luther King spoke in when he came to Los Angeles, and Reverend Calvin 
Butts of Abyssinia Baptist Church, Harlem, New York, presided over this 
joyful funeral service, which was held in the great West Angeles 
Cathedral in my district.
  I would say that Johnnie led a very important life for a lot of 
people, and we will remember him always for bringing justice to not 
only the poor but middle class and wealthy. May God bless his soul.

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