Mike Thompson: “Mr. Speaker, S. 1904 is a bill to designate the United States Courthouse located at 400 North Miami Avenue in Miami…”

“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. 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.”