[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4136]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING JUDGE THOMAS E. FAIRCHILD

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I honor the memory of one of the 
great jurists in the history of my State and someone I was honored to 
call a friend and mentor: Judge Thomas Fairchild.
  Judge Fairchild earned the respect of all who knew him for his keen 
mind, his kind manner, and his humility. His long and distinguished 
career in public service included serving as Wisconsin's attorney 
general, as a State supreme court justice, and as Federal appeals court 
judge on the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where he rose to 
become chief judge. He held that position from 1975 to 1981 when he 
became a senior judge on the appeals court.
  Judge Fairchild stood for justice and equality in his work on the 
bench, and his work in politics as he made a courageous run for Senate 
against Joe McCarthy in 1952. Through that and other efforts, he played 
a critical role in efforts to revitalize the State's Democratic Party.
  Judge Fairchild was a brilliant legal mind and a man of exceptional 
character. He was also an extremely special person in my family and a 
great friend of my father's. As is the case with anyone who has known 
me for more than 40 years, he called me Rusty.
  Whenever my father, Leon Feingold, or my mother, Sylvia Feingold, 
referred to Judge Fairchild, it was always with reverence. Some of the 
biggest decisions of his career were made, at least in part, in our 
living room. I have always been deeply proud of that fact.
  The Thomas E. Fairchild lecture at University of Wisconsin Law 
School, established in 1988 as a tribute to Judge Fairchild, is just 
one reflection of his tremendous stature in Wisconsin. When I delivered 
the Fairchild lecture in 2005, with Judge Fairchild listening in the 
audience, it was a great honor for me, and a wonderful experience.
  I am deeply saddened by the passing of Judge Fairchild, for the loss 
this means for his family, and for all those who knew him. He was one 
of our State's great legal minds, and one of our most dedicated public 
servants. I feel so fortunate to have known him, and so grateful for 
the many things he taught me and the many kindnesses he showed me over 
the years. The work he did, and the life he lived, will continue to 
enrich Wisconsin and the Nation for many years to come.

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