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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN RECOGNITION OF THE HONORABLE JUDGE HOWARD F. SACHS
______
HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Honorable Judge
Howard F. Sachs' service and commitment to justice throughout his forty
years on the bench. Judge Sachs has spent his entire career advancing
the cause of justice in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri and
throughout Missouri's Fifth Congressional District.
A lifelong Kansas Citian, Judge Sachs was born in 1925 to Alex and
Rose Sachs. Judge Sachs attended Southwest High School in Kansas City's
Brookside neighborhood before serving the country in the Pacific
Theatre as a Naval Electrical Technician's Mate aboard the U.S.S. South
Dakota. While he was anchored in Tokyo Bay on Fleet Admiral Chester
Nimitz's Flag Ship, the Japanese signed the terms of surrender, ending
World War II. Judge Sachs was there, serving his country, during this
significant moment in history. Upon discharge from the military, Judge
Sachs attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where
he received his bachelor's degree and graduated valedictorian of his
class in 1947. In 1950, Judge Sachs received his Juris Doctor with
honors from Harvard Law School.
After completing law school, Judge Sachs returned to his hometown of
Kansas City and was a law clerk for the Honorable Albert A. Ridge of
the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri from 1950
to 1951. While clerking for Judge Ridge, Judge Sachs was assigned the
well-known Swope Park Swimming Pool case, which challenged the
constitutionality of segregated municipal pools in Kansas City. He
contributed to the opinion siding with the argument made by the NAACP's
chief attorney at the time, Thurgood Marshall, that segregated public
swimming pools violated the constitution of the United States. Though
this case was profoundly significant, the work of Judge Sachs was only
beginning. During his private practice in the 1950s, a tumultuous time
for race relations in America, Judge Sachs served as Chairman of the
Board of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and helped orchestrate
the admission of women and African American lawyers into the Kansas
City Bar Association. In 1962, Judge Sachs drafted the ordinance that
finally ended segregated public accommodations in Kansas City,
Missouri. Judge Sachs also was a force for change via the significant
leadership positions he held within the community, serving as a member
of the Kansas City Commission on Human Relations and as President of
the Jewish Community Relations Bureau.
After thirty years in private practice, Judge Sachs was nominated for
his position on the recommendation of Senator Thomas F. Eagleton,
appointed by President Jimmy Carter, and took office in October 1979,
making him the first native-born Kansas Citian to serve in the Western
District of Missouri. When Judge Sachs was confirmed, he was the first
Jewish district judge to sit within the Eighth Circuit in nearly one
hundred years. In 1990, Judge Sachs served as chief judge of the court
and took senior status in 1992. While on the bench, Judge Sachs has
overseen numerous noteworthy cases, from ruling that inmates had a
right to marriage in 1984--a case which eventually reached the Supreme
Court--to the writing of a lower court ruling in Mistretta that
challenged the constitutionality of the Sentencing Commission and
produced federal sentencing guidelines. Even in his fortieth year on
the bench, Judge Howard F. Sachs continues to maintain a significant
docket.
Throughout his career, Judge Sachs has received noteworthy public
recognition including numerous awards from the Lawyers Association of
Kansas City, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Truman
Award for Public Service, the Difference-Maker Award from the Urban
League of Greater Kansas City, and the designation of ``Judge Howard F.
Sachs Day'' on September 26, 2019 by the city of Kansas City, Missouri,
in recognition of forty years of distinguished service on the Federal
Judiciary.
Judge Howard F. Sachs' reputation equals impressive his legal career.
He is widely-known for his unparalleled devotion to the legal
profession and his well-analyzed, clearly expressed opinions rooted in
the bedrock of justice. Distinguished by his intellectual interest,
faithfulness to precedent, and reserved demeanor, Judge Sachs has
established an inspirational legacy steeped in justice, fairness, and
due process. To this day, at ninety-four years old, he remains as
veracious and committed to his duties as his first day on the bench.
Madam Speaker, please join me and all of Missouri's Fifth
Congressional District in celebrating Judge Howard F. Sachs' forty
years serving as a U.S. District Judge of the United States District
Court for the Western District of Missouri. Let us honor his
unremitting commitment to the American people, and the rule of law
____________________