Tribute to Grant Mitchell Armstrong

TRIBUTE TO GRANT MITCHELL ARMSTRONG -- (Extensions of Remarks - March 23, 2004)

SPEECH OF HON. ZOE LOFGREN OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2004

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge and commend Grant Mitchell Armstrong on his retirement that celebrates a career spanning 34 years of steadfastly guarding the ideals of criminal justice at the County of Santa Clara's Office of the Public Defender.

With Mr. Armstrong's assistance, the Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender was awarded the National Defender Leadership Institute's prestigious Gideon Award of Excellence for 2003. The Office was specifically recognized in areas of accountability, cost-efficiency, innovation and effective representation of clients, and was cited as a "Best Practices" model for public defender offices nationwide.

Mr. Armstrong played a key role in the recruitment and training of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural cadre of attorneys within the Office. In May of 2000, the Office of the Public Defender was awarded the County Executive's Unity in Diversity Achievement Award for the significant staff diversity the Office achieved. While less than 15 percent of the lawyers in California are Black, Hispanic or Asian, 35 percent of the lawyers in the Office are minority group members and 45 percent are women.

Mr. Armstrong also played a vital role in the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court through his leadership roles with the Mentoring Program that pairs young participants with adults committed to the development of healthy, drug-free lifestyles.

I am proud and grateful to thank Grant Mitchell Armstrong for his significant contributions to our criminal justice system.

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