To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 600 East First Street in Rome, Georgia, as the "Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and United States Courthouse".

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 532, to designate the Federal building and United States Courthouse located at 600 East First Street in Rome, Georgia, as the Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

This bill honors a man who devoted his life to the service and protection of our Nation, Judge Harold Murphy.

Born in Felton, Georgia, in 1927, Judge Murphy attended West Georgia College before serving in the Navy toward the end of World War II. He resumed his studies at the University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia School of Law where he graduated in 1949. He began a law practice in Haralson County, Georgia, and in 1950 was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as the youngest member at the time.

Judge Murphy served five consecutive terms before stepping down in 1961 to focus on practicing law. In 1971, Judge Murphy was appointed by Governor Jimmy Carter to the Superior Court for the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, and following his election in 1976, Mr. Carter nominated Judge Murphy to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 1977.

For 45 years he served his country on the Federal bench and became an acclaimed jurist and legal icon with a stellar reputation that extended far beyond Georgia. He always displayed a quick wit and a keen sense of humor. Judge Murphy once subpoenaed a talking myna bird who had witnessed a store robbery to testify in court.

He was kind and empathetic and treated all those who appeared before him with courtesy and respect.

Judge Murphy's congeniality was only surpassed by his fairness and prudential impartiality. In fact, he is the only judge who was known to receive Christmas cards from inmates in prison that Judge Murphy had himself put away. He was so excruciatingly fair and impartial that during one case, he even talked a defendant out of a guilty plea.

Judge Murphy worked tirelessly and carried a full docket until the age of 90 when he took senior judge status in the Northern District of Georgia. He continued to preside over cases until his death on December 28, 2022.

Judge Murphy received many professional awards and recognitions, including from the State Bar of Georgia and the University of Georgia School of Law.

In 2014, Alabama State University renamed its graduate school after Judge Murphy in recognition of his landmark ruling in Knight v. Alabama, a long-running case that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals asked him to handle involving the vestiges of racial segregation then present in the University of Alabama System.

Above all else, Judge Murphy was a loving and devoted husband and father, and a strong role model who made everyone who knew him in northwest Georgia proud.

Mr. Speaker, I also support this legislation. Just about anything Jimmy Carter did, he did right. This imprimatur about Mr. Murphy's serving on the bench was obviously a good one. He spent those 45 years there.

He was the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher. He attended the University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia School of Law.

He was the youngest member elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, serving five terms there before he was appointed a superior court judge by then-Governor Jimmy Carter. After Mr. Carter was elected President, he nominated Judge Murphy to serve as the Northern District Federal judge.

Judge Murphy remained on the bench until 2017 when he took senior status. Judge Murphy remained an active senior judge until his death at the age of 95.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation. I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Judge Murphy showed that people can rise to certain levels and do things where he was recognized by Alabama State University, an HBCU, by naming their graduate school for him, and I guess it related to that particular case where he got the case by interchange.

Moreover, going almost to 95 years old speaks to the fact that somebody can be even older than 81 and can still do their job for the Federal Government in a good way.

Otherwise, I support the bill greatly, I appreciate Ms. Greene bringing it, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 532) to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 600 East First Street in Rome, Georgia, as the ``Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 532.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill honors Judge Harold L. Murphy, a former judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, by naming the Federal building and United States Courthouse in Rome, Georgia, after him.

After being nominated to the United States District Court by President Jimmy Carter, Judge Murphy served on the Federal bench for 45 years. It is fitting that we honor the late Judge Murphy by naming this courthouse after him.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene) to speak on her bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. In closing, let me offer further support to this bill which certainly recognizes Judge Murphy's service to our country by naming this Federal building after him. I certainly am encouraged by my colleague, Ms. Greene's, sponsorship of the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.