[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15985]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF JUDGE LAWRENCE K. KARLTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2014

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Judge Lawrence K. 
Karlton as he takes inactive status from the United States District 
Court, Eastern District of California. As his family, colleagues and 
community leaders gather to honor his remarkable career, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in tribute to Judge Karlton's service to the 
federal judiciary.
  Judge Karlton graduated from New York University and Columbia School 
of Law, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1958. He joined the United States 
Army, serving from 1958 to 1960, and was a Civilian Legal Officer at 
the Sacramento Army Depot from 1960 to 1962. He was in private practice 
in Sacramento, California from 1962 to 1976. In 1976 he was appointed 
by California Governor Jerry Brown as a judge of the Superior Court of 
California, where he served until 1979. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter 
appointed Judge Karlton to the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of California. Judge Karlton has served with 
distinction and integrity and was Chief Judge from 1983 to 1990. In 
2010 he assumed Senior status.
  Judge Karlton has dedicated his career to public service and has a 
steadfast commitment to our nation's judicial system. During his first 
year as Chief Judge, he convened the first annual Eastern District 
Conference to bring the bench and the bar together in an informal 
setting to discuss issues of mutual concern and to improve the 
administration of justice within the district, and the district has 
continued to hold annual conferences for over thirty years. Since being 
appointed to the federal bench over thirty-five years ago, Judge 
Karlton has presided over thousands of civil and criminal cases, 
including individual civil and criminal actions, multi-party civil and 
criminal actions, and complex class action lawsuits implicating 
significant questions of constitutional law and statutory 
interpretation. He has also sat by designation on several panels in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition, from 
2007 until September 1, 2014, Judge Karlton sat with Judges Stephen 
Reinhardt and Thelton Henderson on a special three-judge panel 
overseeing reduction of unconstitutional overcrowding in the California 
prison system. In every case and on every panel, Judge Karlton has 
remained dedicated to the rule of law and the fair administration of 
equal justice for all.
  Mr. Speaker, as Judge Karlton, his wife Sue, family, friends, and 
colleagues celebrate this transition, I ask that my colleagues join me 
in thanking and recognizing him for his many years of service. Judge 
Karlton has contributed immensely to the federal bench and our 
community.

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