Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse
Floor Speech
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1904) to designate the United States courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida, as the "Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse."
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 1904
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The United States courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida, shall be known and designated as the "Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse".
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the "Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse".
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio. (Mr. LaTourette).
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 1904, similar to H.R. 2538, which was introduced by our friend and colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), designates the United States Courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida as the "Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse."
Wilkie Ferguson was born in Miami, Florida in 1938 to Bahamian immigrants and raised in the Liberty Square public housing project. Despite being raised in an environment of discrimination and segregation, Wilkie Ferguson attended the then segregated Miami Public School System and, upon his graduation, attended Florida A&M.
After graduating from Florida A&M with a Bachelor's Degree in business administration, Wilkie Ferguson entered the United States Army, where he served as a First Lieutenant for 3 years, and then for another 2 years as a Captain in the Army Reserve.
When he left the Army, Mr. Ferguson attended and graduated from Howard University Law School. His legal career began with Legal Services of Greater Miami. He also worked as a staff attorney for the Miami Dade School Board of Education before entering private practice.
In 1973, his judicial career began when he was appointed a Judge of Industrial Claims, and later as a Judge on the Circuit Court for the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, and then the Third District Court of Appeals for Florida.
In 1993, Judge Ferguson was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a post which he held until his death.
This is a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to helping the poor and the disenfranchised. I support this measure and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 1904 is a bill to designate the United States Courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida as the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) introduced the House companion bill, H.R. 2538, for himself, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and the gentlemen from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart), (Mr. Deutsch), and (Mr. Brown).
Judge Wilkie Ferguson, a native Floridian, was born to immigrant parents in 1938 and was raised in a public housing project in Miami. Through hard work, perseverance, and personal drive, he received degrees from Florida A&M University, Drexel University in Philadelphia, and a law degree from Howard University Law School in the District of Columbia.
Judge Ferguson served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1960 until 1964 as a Lieutenant and as a Reserve Captain from 1964 to 1968. He was nominated to the Federal bench by President Clinton in 1993 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November of 1993.
Despite his humble beginnings, Judge Ferguson achieved the highest levels of judicial service and was a dedicated public servant. He holds the distinction of being the first black jurist appointed to the Miami Dade Circuit Court and the Third District Court of Appeals. His judicial legacy includes a 1980 ruling that African Americans cannot be systematically excluded from a jury. His rulings also significantly affected the lives of many disabled individuals by prohibiting the State from reducing services to the disabled.
Judge Ferguson was a prolific writer and authored many articles on Federal drug laws, expert witnesses, and privacy in the computer age. He received numerous awards and honors, including the Courage and Scholarship in Legal Writing Award from the National Bar Association, the Champions of Higher Education in Florida Award, and the Thurgood Marshall Achievement Award For Exceptional Scholarly Performance.
He was a member of the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions.
Judge Ferguson was highly regarded and was liked by not only his peers, but also by many young colleagues. He was experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated to fairness and compassion. It is most fitting that the courthouse in Miami be named in his honor. I support S. 1904 and urge its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I would advise my friend, the gentleman from California, that we have no additional speakers and would reserve our time subject to closing.
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek).
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I want to also thank the chairman for his very kind comments about Judge Wilkie Ferguson.
I just want to share with the House and the American people that the local community in Miami Dade County and within the circuit there in south Florida, that it is just a high honor that this House would not find it robbery and also the other body to name this courthouse after Judge Wilkie Ferguson. Many of our viewers and also Members of the House had an opportunity to hear my colleagues speak so eloquently about his past contributions to our society.
Unfortunately, but some may say fortunately, he moved on to a higher place on June 9 of 2003.
I think it is very, very fitting for the American people not only to hear of his contributions, but also for judges and those that are involved in our judicial system, from the Supreme Court all the way down to a hearing officer at the county court level, to hear the contributions of this great man. He stood on behalf of not only people financially challenged or people of color, but he stood on behalf of the law and what the Constitution spoke of as it relates to representing everyone and making sure that they have a fair share.
In south Florida, we have a very diverse community, Mr. Speaker, and I must say, as it relates to Judge Ferguson and as it relates to this courthouse being named after him, we had unanimous support as it relates to individuals coming forth and saying we want to name this courthouse, which is in downtown Miami, one of the most outstanding buildings that is being erected that will be ready to open its doors in the fall of 2005, for those workers who are working on that courthouse, for those individuals that walk by every day as they walk to the county courthouse and also to the courthouse that is existing now, they will know that the American people stand behind the Wilkie Ferguson philosophy in making sure that everyone is represented.
For every judge that walks into those doors, it will remind him and her and, even as it relates to the magistrates, it will remind them of the importance of standing on behalf of all Americans and standing on behalf of individuals until they are proven guilty.
It will remind those individuals, those court reporters that walk into that Federal courthouse of the importance of making sure that as they type down the words of witnesses and defendants and prosecutors and individuals that are trying to seek justice, families that are looking to be made whole through our justice system and finding some sort of resolution, whether it be to a civil offense or to a criminal offense that may take place, that Judge Wilkie Ferguson once walked through that area in that vicinity and that his spirit will forever live in the hearts and minds of those individuals that work there every day of their lives.
I just want to also share with the House that it is very, very important that we remember the importance of the contributions of those individuals that came up on the rough side. Wilkie Ferguson did. His wife Betty Ferguson also did, who also offered her life and is still offering her service to our public there in the Miami-Dade Commission.
Wilkie Ferguson spoke to individuals, ordinary individuals at his level. Being a Federal judge, serving and being very respected in the community, he spoke to the individuals that were out there clipping the hedges. He spoke to the individuals as it relates to getting a cup of coffee for people such as himself. He is the kind, and was the kind, and I say he is the kind because in my heart and my mind he is still living with us, even though he has passed on his spirit is still alive and well, he spoke to those individuals. He made sure that people felt like people.
He represented in a way that he should. He wrote articles to our local paper about what should be happening in our judicial system. He was an advocate judge, but an advocate judge on behalf of every American.
And I am so honored; I am pleased that my community came together on this. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their forward thinking in saying that this was appropriate to name this courthouse after him. I thank this House for coming together and making sure that we honor a man of great dignity and integrity on the bench and even before he got on the bench.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the American people for this opportunity to address the House.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1904, a bill to designate the United States Courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue, Miami, FL, as the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse.
Judge Wilkie Ferguson, a native Floridian, was born of Bahamian parents in Miami on May 1, 1938, and died on June 9, 2003. He was educated at Florida A&M University and Howard University Law School. Judge Ferguson served with distinction as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1960 to 1964, and as a Reserve captain from 1964 until 1968. He was nominated to the Federal bench by President Clinton in 1993 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 1993.
Rising from humble beginnings, Judge Ferguson was highly educated, hard working, and a dedicated public servant. In addition to his undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University, he also received a master's degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, as well as a law degree from Howard University in the District of Columbia.
Judge Ferguson holds the distinction of being the first black jurist appointed to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court and the Third District Court of Appeals.
Judge Ferguson was a prolific writer and authored many articles on Federal drug laws, expert witnesses, and privacy in the computer age. His professional work was acknowledged with many awards and honors, including the Williams Hastie Award, the United Way of Dade County Distinguished Service Award, and the South Florida Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration Award.
Judge Wilkie Ferguson was well respected by his colleagues and by all who entered his courtroom. He was dedicated to fairness and compassion and served as a mentor to many younger colleagues. It is most fitting that the courthouse in Miami be named in his honor. I support S. 1904 and urge its passage.
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simmons). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1904.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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