{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2006-12-08-pt1-PgE2139-5", "2006-12-08", 109, 2, null, null, "HONORING FEDERAL JUDGE PAUL BROWN", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "HONORING", "E2139", "E2140", "[{\"name\": \"Ralph M. Hall\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "152 Cong. Rec. E2139", "Congressional Record, Volume 152 Issue 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E2139-E2140]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                   HONORING FEDERAL JUDGE PAUL BROWN\n\n                                 ______\n\n                           HON. RALPH M. HALL\n\n                                of texas\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006\n\n  Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to one of the\noutstanding Federal judges in our Nation, U.S. District Judge Paul\nBrown, who is retiring after 21 years of distinguished service on the\nbench in the Eastern District of Texas. Judge Brown has been my good\nfriend for many years, and he is a respected and beloved Judge and\nmember of the community in Sherman, Texas.\n  Judge Brown represents the finest qualities of jurisprudence. Hanging\non his wall in the Sherman Federal Courthouse are Socrates' four\nqualities for a good judge--to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to\nconsider soberly, and to decide impartially. Judge Brown embodied all\nof these qualities, and he dispensed justice accordingly. He was highly\nregarded, well-respected, and was a role model for many.\n  Paul Brown was the youngest of a family of six raised on a farm near\nPottsboro, TX. He graduated from Denison High School and although\nunderage, he got his parents' consent to join the U.S. Navy when World\nWar II broke out. He served as a minesweeper in both the Atlantic and\nPacific theaters and as a part of the occupation forces in Japan. He\nwas discharged as an Electrician's Mate 2nd Class in June, 1946.\n  He returned to his studies and received a law degree in 1950 from The\nUniversity of Texas before being recalled to active duty in the Korean\nWar. He saw combat aboard a minesweeper which was sunk by mines, and he\nreceived an honorable discharge in December of 1951.\n  Judge began his practice of law following the war and following\nPresident Dwight Eisenhower's election, he went to work as an assistant\nU.S. Attorney in Texarkana under U.S. Attorney William Steger, who\nwould become his mentor, good friend, and fellow colleague\n\n[[Page E2140]]\n\non the bench in the Eastern District until Judge Steger's passing this\nyear. He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1953 to 1959, then\nfollowed in Judge Steger's footsteps as U.S. District Attorney from\n1959 to 1961.\n  While in Texarkana, Judge Brown met and married Frances Morehead, and\nthe two returned home to Sherman, where Judge Brown practiced law for a\nnumber of years. In 1985 Senator Phil Graham recommended him to\nPresident Ronald Reagan for a new judge's position created for the\nEastern District of Texas, and Judge Brown was confirmed that year. He\nheld court in Beaumont, Paris, Sherman, and Texarkana, and as the\ncaseload in Sherman grew, he eventually presided over the Sherman\ncourthouse exclusively.\n  Premiere cases over the years included intellectual property, patent\ncases, and criminal cases precipitated by the bank and savings and loan\nfailures of the 1980s and 1990s. In recent years he noted the increase\nin drug cases and expressed his regret that, in spite of all the\nefforts that have been made to prosecute drug dealers, the nation is\nnot making much progress in curtailing the use of drugs. No matter what\ntype of cases came before him, Judge Brown always enjoyed the work and\nran an efficient and orderly courtroom. His personal work ethic and\njudicial integrity have been remarkable, and his reputation for\npunctuality has been legendary.\n\n  At his retirement reception, hundreds of local attorneys, area judges\nand friends and family paid tribute to Judge Brown. The Eastern\nDistrict Chief Judge, Thad Heartfield, speaking for the fifteen judges\non their court, has recommended that Congress name the U.S. District\nCourthouse in Sherman the ``Paul Brown U.S. Courthouse.'' Judge\nHeartfield noted that Judge Brown has demonstrated the finest qualities\nof a U.S. district judge: knowledge of the law, courtesy, patience,\nwisdom and compassion. It will be my pleasure to introduce legislation\nto that end.\n  As we near adjournment of the 109th Congress, I ask my colleagues to\njoin me in celebrating the life of a great American, outstanding public\nservant, and respected jurist, the Honorable Paul Brown, U.S. District\nJudge for the Eastern District of Texas.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2006-12-08-pt1-PgE2139-5"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 66.65940792299807, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}