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[Pages S2061-S2062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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REMEMBERING JUDGE JAMES M. MUNLEY AND JUDGE A. RICHARD CAPUTO
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to remember and honor
Judge James M. Munley and Judge A. Richard Caputo, who collectively
served the Middle District of Pennsylvania as Federal district judges
for over 40 years.
Judge Munley was a native of Archibald, PA. After graduating from the
University of Scranton in 1958, he joined the U.S. Army and served
until 1960. After his military service, Judge Munley enrolled at the
Temple University School of Law and graduated in 1963. He clerked for
the Honorable Michael J. Eagen on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
before practicing law in Scranton from 1964 to 1978. From 1978 to 1998,
Judge Munley served with distinction as a judge on the Lackawanna
County Court of Common Pleas. In 1998, Judge Munley was nominated to a
seat on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
by President Bill Clinton. He was confirmed by the Senate and went on
to serve the Middle District honorably for over two decades.
As a Federal judge, Judge Munley continued his family's tremendous
legacy of public service and dedication to Pennsylvania. Both of his
parents, Robert W. Munley and Marion L. Munley, and his grandfather,
William J. Munley, served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Judge
Munley has been remembered by members of the Pennsylvania legal
community as a skilled, good-natured, and fair jurist who approached
life with a sense of optimism that ``was contagious in the best sense
of the word.'' In his courtroom and in his life, he was known to treat
everyone with the same dignity, respect, and kindness. U.S. District
Judge Malachy E. Mannion remembered Judge Munley by noting: ``What
defined him most was just his sense of humanity. He was a great judge,
but he was a greater human being.''
Judge Caputo was born in Port Chester, NY, and raised in Rye, NY. He
graduated from Brown University in 1960. After Brown, Judge Caputo
enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Law School and graduated in
1963. He went on to join the U.S. Air Force as an officer in the Judge
Advocate General's Corps and served until
[[Page S2062]]
1967. After his military service, Judge Caputo worked as a public
defender in Luzerne County for 1 year before joining the law firm of
Shea & Shea. In 1973, the firm was renamed Shea, Shea & Caputo, and
after nearly 30 years in private practice, Judge Caputo was nominated
to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania by President Bill Clinton in 1997. After being confirmed
by the Senate, he honorably served on the Federal bench in the Middle
District for over two decades.
Judge Caputo was known as a strong and fair jurist who treated
everyone with deep respect in his courtroom. He strongly believed in
balancing individual rights with the needs of a well-ordered society,
and some in the Pennsylvania legal community have remembered him as a
judge who was not afraid to depart from Federal sentencing guidelines
when he found them to be too harsh. He was deeply committed to the
judiciary, as evidenced by the fact that he continued to hear cases up
until just a few months prior to his death. He believed that the
judiciary was the heart of our democracy. Chief U.S. District Judge
Christopher Conner remembered Judge Caputo as a `` `judge's judge'--a
strong, direct and erudite jurist,'' who made ``extraordinary
contributions to the Wilkes-Barre vicinage, to our entire court, and to
our country.''
At a time when our Nation faces unprecedented challenges in
responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Judge Munley and Judge Caputo are
important reminders of the intellect, compassion, and fairness that
have guided our Nation since its founding. They will be missed
tremendously, but their legacy will continue to inspire countless
Pennsylvanians and individuals throughout our country.
____________________