James Oberstar: “I rise in support of H.R. 315, a bill to designate the United States Courthouse located at 300 North Hogan St.…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 315, a bill to designate the United States Courthouse located at 300 North Hogan St., Jacksonville, Florida, as the ``John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse''. I commend the bill's sponsor, the gentlelady from Florida, for her diligence and hard work in pursuit of honoring such an eminent jurist. Judge Simpson was chosen for this distinction from among 20 nominees of prominent civic leaders and jurists who have played an outstanding role in the history of the middle district of Florida. Judge Simpson was a native Floridian. He was born in 1903 in Kissimmee and attended local public schools. In 1926 he graduated from the University of Florida Law School. In 1950, after a long career in private practice and as a judge in Florida state court, President Truman appointed Judge Simpson to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In 1966, President Johnson appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Simpson also later served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Judge Simpson was known for his extraordinary personal courage and insistence on racial equality. Judge Simpson issued landmark decisions on desegregation, including ordering the desegregation of public schools in Orlando and Daytona Beach and ordering the desegregation of Jacksonville city pools and golf courses. With these decisions, he established a model for all such future decisions.”