[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16736]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING MR. THOMAS R. ASHLEY, ESQ. FOR RECEIVING THE DANIEL L. 
                   GOLDEN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 3, 2011

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Mr. Thomas R. 
Ashley, Esq. who is a recipient of the Daniel L. Golden Lifetime 
Achievement Award. Mr. Ashley is one of New Jersey's and the nation's 
leading trial lawyers. It is with great pleasure and honor that I 
recognize the legacy of this accomplished attorney.
  Mr. Thomas R. Ashley, Esq. is a native of Camden, New Jersey. As a 
star basketball player at Camden High School, Mr. Ashley received a 
scholarship to attend Rutgers University. He went on to accept an 
academic scholarship to Rutgers Law School, later becoming a recipient 
of Rutgers Law School's Civil Rights Award. With many opportunities and 
offers at major law firms, it was his law school professor, Mr. Arthur 
Kinoy, who urged Mr. Ashley to join the national legal staff of the 
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
  In 1968, Mr. Ashley prepared his first case with the NAACP lead team 
for the dismissal of an African-American man charged with the arson of 
a building in Enid, Oklahoma. Within four years, he teamed up with the 
well-known criminal and civil rights attorney, Mr. Raymond A. Brown, 
and started building a Newark based law practice that continues to this 
day.
  Mr. Ashley's other accomplishments and affiliations include 
membership in the New Jersey State Bar Association, Essex County Bar 
Association and the National Directory of Criminal Lawyers as one of 
the top 500 criminal trial lawyers in the United States. He was also 
named the ``Ten Leaders of Criminal Defense Law for Northern New 
Jersey'' by Digital Press International in April 2004.
  Mr. Thomas R. Ashley, Esq. is an extraordinary attorney, who 
continues to advocate for civil rights and justice in the Newark 
community and throughout the United States. Mr. Speaker, I rise to 
congratulate a noble and well-deserved recipient of The Daniel L. 
Golden Lifetime Achievement Award.

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