James Oberstar: “I rise in support of H.R. 2671, a bill to designate the Federal courthouse located at 301 North Miami Avenue, Miami, in…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2671, a bill to designate the Federal courthouse located at 301 North Miami Avenue, Miami, in the Southern District of Florida as the ``C. Clyde Atkins United States Courthouse''. Judge C. Clyde Atkins was born on November 23, 1914, in Washington, DC. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1936. He practiced law as a partner in the law firm of Walton, Lantaff, Shroeder, Atkins, Carson, and Wahl for more than 25 years, from 1941 to 1966. In 1966, judge Atkins was appointed to the District Court in the Southern District of Florida by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He served first as a district judge, then as chief judge, and eventually as a senior judge. During his time on the Federal bench, Judge Atkins presided over a number of landmark cases, including the unprecedented desegregation of Dade County schools in 1969. In 1970, he presided over an important environmental case and ruled that there was a public interest in protecting wildlife from discharge from a nuclear plant into Biscayne Bay. Judge Atkins found the City of Miami guilty of a pattern of harassment of the City's homeless population and showed great courage in overturning Federal policies that required the repatriation of Haitian and Cuban refugees at Guantanamo Bay. Judge Atkins often made these rulings with little fanfare but always with a deep, abiding respect for the rule of law and equality.”