Frank Lautenberg: “it is with a sad and heavy heart that I rise to pay tribute to a great American and New Jerseyan, Justice William J.…”

“it is with a sad and heavy heart that I rise to pay tribute to a great American and New Jerseyan, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., who passed away yesterday at age 91. The thoughts and prayers of all the people of our State and country are with his wife Mary, his three children William J., III, Hugh, and Nancy, as well as his seven grandchildren. Mr. President, during nearly 34 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Brennan had an enormous impact on this Nation's constitutional jurisprudence. Justice Brennan was a consistent champion of freedom of expression, of strict separation of church and state, and of equality for the poor, racial minorities, and women. In fact, he was a life-long defender of the freedoms of all Americans. William Brennan's life was truly the epitome of the American Dream. He was born in Newark, NJ, on April 25, 1906, the second oldest of the eight children of an Irish immigrant who started as a laborer but rose through the ranks to become an important labor leader and the city's commissioner of public safety.”