Tribute to Judge Reynaldo Guerra Garza
TRIBUTE TO JUDGE REYNALDO GUERRA GARZA
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Judge Reynaldo Guerra Garza, who passed away yesterday in Brownsville, TX, at the age of 89. Judge Garza was the first Mexican American to serve as a Federal district court judge and a Federal appellate judge. Today, I join my fellow Texans in mourning this loss, along with his wife of 65 years, Bertha Garza, and his five children. By any measure of Reynaldo Garza's stature in the community, he was a mountain of a man.
Reynaldo Garza was born in 1915 in Brownsville, TX, a first-generation American whose parents had fled civil unrest in Mexico. It was during the Depression when he decided to become a lawyer, so he worked as a laborer for the WPA to save money for tuition at the University of Texas.
He excelled in his studies at the University of Texas and developed a great many political friendships, including a longstanding friendship with then-congressional candidate Lyndon Baines Johnson. In 1939, he graduated from the University of Texas Law School and opened his own law office in Brownsville, TX. A solo firm was financially risky for such a green young lawyer, but Reynaldo Garza strongly believed he should practice law in his community, among his family and his friends.
Reynaldo Garza served for 4 years as a gunnery sergeant in World War II and returned to Brownsville with a growing reputation as a civic leader and a brilliant lawyer. He was invited to join the largest firm in town as a partner, where he practiced commercial and insurance law for more than a decade.
When a Federal judicial vacancy came up in 1961, President John F. Kennedy nominated Reynaldo Garza to fill the seat with broad support from the Texas leadership. After being confirmed, Judge Garza plowed through a heavy 2-year backlog of cases in exceptional time. As his profile grew, Judge Garza became a symbol for many young, hard-working Hispanics to pursue their goals of leadership within the legal, business, and social community, blazing a trail for others to follow.
Those in Brownsville, TX, who saw Judge Garza as a model to follow included a junior high school student named Juliet Garcia, who became the first Mexican-American woman president of a university, and a young attorney, Federico Pena, who was to become U.S. Transportation Secretary.
Garza wrote:
I've always said I hope I got the appointment because I was qualified, not because I was Mexican American. But I knew I had to do a good job or else my actions would reflect not only my ability, but also that of other Mexican Americans.
It was in December of 1976 when President-elect Jimmy Carter called Judge Garza personally to ask him to join his Cabinet as Attorney General. But Judge Garza thought it was a prank call, so he simply hung up the phone. Eventually, after being convinced this was indeed the real thing, a request from the President-elect, Judge Garza gracefully declined the offer because he wanted to stay close to home and stay close to his community.
But it was in 1978, when President Carter called again, and this time offering him a nomination to serve on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals-after having been confirmed by the Senate-he became the first Mexican-American Federal appellate court judge. At every step of the way, Reynaldo Garza blazed a trail for others.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza, who practiced law in Brownsville from 1983 until 1988, told the Associated Press today that everybody who knew Judge Garza had a story to tell. He said:
I remember him telling me when I was a lawyer, "Don't ever forget you'll have a lot of clients, if you're lucky, but hopefully your clients will only have one attorney."
The Ambassador said:
I will never forget that advice.
Judge Garza retired from active service in 1982, but he continued to serve on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals with a reduced workload. His last court sitting was in 2001, and he continued working as a circuit court judge until the time of his death. He never lost that dedication or belief in the importance of hard work and perseverance.
Let me share with you one additional story. This one is from the Brownsville Herald of today. It was reported:
Garza touched many [lives] in the legal community, both professionally and personally.
Undeterred by his illness, he officiated the swearing in of U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa in McAllen as chairman of the federal sentencing commission. The ceremony was performed in [Judge] Garza's hospital room in Brownsville on Aug. 3, Hinojosa said.
[Judge] Hinojosa met [Judge] Garza when he was on the bench at the federal courthouse in Brownsville. Their two courtrooms were located on the same floor.
"Judge Garza was a great mentor and immediately made me feel at home . . . he was always ready to provide advice and counsel," [Judge] Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa said he has admired Garza since he was a boy. He remembers attending naturalization ceremonies in Starr County, which [Judge] Garza presided over.
"I remember sitting there and not realizing that someday I would be working on the same floor as he did," Hinojosa said.
"He's an example of anything that is possible in this great county."
"The rest of us have come along after him because he opened doors for us. He opened doors that remain open for the rest of us."
Mr. President, today, I offer this salute to the memory of Judge Reynaldo Garza.
I remember when I served on the State judiciary, we were at Southern Methodist University School of Law trying to help young law students become effective advocates on a moot court panel. He and I served on the same panel. I remember his great humor, his great intelligence, and his incisive questioning.
It may seem as if Judge Garza is gone from us now, but he is still here as long as we bear his memory in our hearts, as long as we honor what he gave to us during his time here on Earth, and as long as his example inspires a child to dream of greater things.
May God bless Reynaldo Garza. And may God bless his family.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.