[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16047]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING JUDGE MARK KRAVITZ

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one of 
our Nation's most preeminent legal minds and dedicated public servants, 
who recently passed away. U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz was known 
throughout Connecticut and our Nation's highest courts as a respected 
judicial authority, experienced appellate litigator, legal scholar, and 
community leader.
  Judge Kravitz was deeply regarded and admired for his extraordinary 
analytical mind and trial expertise. He devoted his vast experience--27 
years at New Haven firm Wiggin and Dana as a trial and appellate 
lawyer--to public service. Just out of law school, he emerged as a 
leader, clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who, in 2003, 
swore him in as a U.S. district judge. In 2001, and then again in 2007, 
he was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to serve on the Committee on 
the Rules of Practice and Procedure and to chair the Advisory Committee 
on Civil Rules. Over the years, he engaged in vital national 
discussions, writing for the National Law Journal and serving as an 
American Law Institute Fellow and a board member of the American 
Academy of Appellate Lawyers. In addition, he taught at the University 
of Connecticut School of Law, Yale Law, and the University of Melbourne 
Graduate School of Law.
  I knew Judge Kravitz personally and professionally, on and off the 
bench. As attorney general, I appeared before him, arguing positions 
and causes that did not always prevail. Win or lose, I felt that the 
result was fair and well-reasoned. And that view of him was common to 
almost all litigants in his courtroom. Judge Kravitz presided and ruled 
on important national issues, including the constitutionality of No 
Child Left Behind, free speech and property cases, and recently first 
amendment rights cases raised by the movement to ``occupy Wall Street'' 
on the New Haven Green. Even when diagnosed with ALS, he continued 
relentlessly and tirelessly to work full time, demonstrating his 
passion for the law and dedication to his country.
  As a footnote, I spent many hours with Judge Kravitz, even before he 
became a judge. He headed a moot court team that prepared me for 
Supreme Court arguments.
  More importantly, I consistently witnessed Judge Kravitz's commitment 
to the philosophy of equality under the law, while remaining carefully 
attuned to the facets of each legal question before him. He was 
trustworthy, and loyal in his relationship with others, especially his 
beloved family--and my dear colleague and friend.
  Outside of the law, he gave back to Connecticut as founding director 
of both the Yale Children's Hospital and Connecticut Food Bank. In 
addition, he volunteered his time on the boards of several nonprofit 
organizations, including the Connecticut Foundation for Open 
Government, Guilford Library Association, and Board of Ethics for the 
Town of Guilford. Judge Kravitz cared deeply about morality and 
integrity--and lived according to the highest principles.
  I was inspired and moved by a recent unveiling of his portrait, 
commissioned by the Connecticut Bar Foundation, which will be hung in 
New Haven's Federal courthouse. I invite my Senate colleagues to join 
me in paying respect to Judge Mark Kravitz and sending condolences to 
his family, friends, and colleagues, who mourn his loss, and remember a 
man who made his life's work contributing to the world around him.

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