Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to fellow Iowan Judge Edward ``Nick'' McManus. Judge McManus died earlier this month at the age of 97. He has a long and deep history in Iowa politics and judicial activities. When I first entered the State legislature, Judge McManus was known as Lieutenant Governor McManus. He also served in the Iowa Senate. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy appointed him chief judge of the Northern District of Iowa where he served for 23 years when he took senior status. His ascension to this position made him the first native-born Iowan appointed to the Federal Northern District Court of Iowa. He remained on the bench for a total of 55 years and was still taking cases at the time of his death. He was proud of his service on the court and the modernization of the court he started in 1962. Upon Judge McManus's death, current acting U.S. Attorney Sean Berry told the Cedar Rapids Gazette, ``The changes implemented by Judge McManus left an indelible and positive impact on the efficient administration of justice for all litigants in the federal court.'' He took great pride that the only time he had a backlog of cases was the first 100 that were there when he took the job. He took very seriously the Bill of Rights Sixth Amendment where it says ``the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.'' His longtime assistant, Deb Frank, may have said it best, ``I know he loved to work. He loved what he was doing.…”