{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2026-05-07-pt1-PgE420-3", "2026-05-07", 119, 2, null, null, "HONORING JUDGE HERBERT E. PHIPPS", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "HONORING", "E420", "E421", "[{\"name\": \"Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "172 Cong. Rec. E420", "Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 78 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 78 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E420-E421]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                    HONORING JUDGE HERBERT E. PHIPPS\n\n                                 ______\n\n                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.\n\n                               of georgia\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                         Thursday, May 7, 2026\n\n  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and pay tribute to Judge\nHerbert E. Phipps--a distinguished jurist, devoted public servant,\nproud Morehouse alumnus, as well as a beloved husband, father,\ngrandfather, and a dear friend whose life exemplifies courage, service,\nand fidelity to the rule of law. The Dougherty County Bar Association\nhonored Judge Phipps during their annual Law Day Celebration on May 6,\n2026, in Albany, Georgia.\n  Judge Phipps' journey began in a small rural community in Baker\nCounty, Georgia, where family, faith, and hard work shaped his\ncharacter. From those roots he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political\nScience from Morehouse College, a Juris Doctor from Case Western\nReserve University School of Law, where he served as an editor of the\nLaw Review, and a Master of Laws in the Judicial Process from the\nUniversity of Virginia School of Law.\n  After law school he returned to Southwest Georgia to join the\npractice of the legendary civil-rights attorney C.B. King, learning\nthat the practice of law is a moral calling and that courage is an\nindispensable trait for lawyers and judges. He practiced as a solo\npractitioner from 1983 to 1995, served eight years as a part-time\nmagistrate and associate judge of the Dougherty County State Court,\nseven years as judge of the Dougherty County Juvenile Court, and was\nappointed by Governor Zell Miller to the Dougherty Circuit Superior\nCourt in 1995. In July 1999, Governor Roy Barnes appointed him to the\nCourt of Appeals of Georgia; he was elected statewide to three six-year\nterms, served as a presiding judge beginning in 2010, and as chief\njudge from July 2013 through June 2015. Judge Phipps retired from the\nCourt of Appeals in 2016.\n  Judge Phipps' leadership extends far beyond the bench. He has served\nas past chairman of the Board of Directors of SB&T Bank of Albany and\nAmericus; on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Appleseed Center for\nLaw and Justice; as past president of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta and\nthe Dougherty Circuit Bar Association; and on Georgia's Judicial\nNominating Commission, the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Racial\nand Ethnic Bias, and the Georgia Indigent Defense Council Advisory\nCommittee. He is a member of Bethel A.M.E. Church (Albany), Sigma Pi\nPhi (Delta Delta Boule), The Inquiry Club, and the Old War Horse\nLawyers Club, and has led numerous civic organizations in Albany,\nincluding the Albany Advocacy Resource Center and the Albany Sickle\nCell Foundation.\n  His service has been recognized with many honors: the Randolph\nThrower Lifetime Achievement Award, the Chief Justice Thomas O.\nMarshall Professionalism Award, the Logan E. Bleckley Distinguished\nService Award, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association ``Guardian of\nJustice Award,'' the Nestor Award from the Georgia Legal History\nFoundation, the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service,\ninduction into the Society of Benchers of Case Western Reserve School\nof Law, the Case Western Reserve University School of\n\n[[Page E421]]\n\nLaw Centennial Medal, recognition as a Legal Legend by the Georgia\nLawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, and an Honorary\nDoctor of Laws from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. His\ncommencement address at Case Western in 2007, ``Lawyers--the Guardians\nof Truth and Justice,'' remains a testament to his faith in the\nprofession.\n  Sustained by a devoted family, Judge Phipps is married to Connie\nCurry Phipps. They are the parents of Herbert E. Phipps, Jr. and India\nK. Epps (and son-in-law Will J. Epps), and proud grandparents of Zoe\nOlivia Epps and Evan James Epps.\n  This year, the Dougherty County Bar honored Judge Phipps on Law Day--\na fitting tribute from colleagues and neighbors who have witnessed his\ndecades of service. Judge Phipps has long called on lawyers and judges\nto speak with courage on today's pressing social-justice issues,\ndrawing lessons from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights\nAct of 1965, and the long struggle for equality. He reminds us that\njudges do not have the luxury of silence when justice is at stake.\nJudge Phipps has lived his life by the creed of former U.S. Supreme\nCourt Chief Justice Earl Warren: ``Where there is injustice, we should\ncorrect it; where there is poverty, we should eliminate it; where there\nis corruption, we should stamp it out; where there is violence, we\nshould punish it; where there is neglect, we should provide care; where\nthere is war, we should restore peace; and wherever corrections are\nachieved, we should add them permanently to our storehouse of\ntreasures.''\n  On a personal note, I have had the privilege of knowing Judge Phipps\nfor over five decades. Our relationship began during my formative years\nas a civil rights lawyer, where I received training as an Earl Warren\nFellow with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. I benefited from the\nmentorship of both Judge Phipps and C.B. King. Through their guidance,\nI learned the principles of justice, advocacy, and the unwavering\ncommitment required to fight for civil rights, which have profoundly\nshaped my own career in public service. I am forever grateful for his\nfidelity and friendship.\n  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives\nto join my wife Vivian and me, along with the more than 765,000 people\nof Georgia's 2nd District in honoring the service of Judge Herbert E.\nPhipps. Judge Phipps' life--from Baker County to Morehouse, from C.B.\nKing's law office to the Court of Appeals--inspires us all. For his\nwisdom on the bench, his steadfast leadership in the community, the\nwarmth of his friendship, and the dignity with which he has served, I\nask my colleagues to join me in thanking Judge Herbert E. Phipps and\nrecognizing the extraordinary example he has set for future\ngenerations. His enduring legacy is one of unwavering commitment to\njustice, equality, and the empowerment of marginalized communities,\ninspiring generations of legal practitioners and activists to carry on\nthe vital work of civil rights advocacy.\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-2026-05-07-pt1-PgE420-3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.43913209810853004, "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"}