Congresswoman Brown's Judge Simpson Courthouse Bill Signed into Law

Congresswoman Brown's Judge Simpson Courthouse Bill Signed into Law

On Friday, October 13th, President Bush signed Congresswoman Corrine Brown's bill (H.R. 315, to name the John Milton Bryan Courthouse) into law. The Congresswoman introduced H.R. 315 to designate the courthouse at 300 North Hogan Street in Jacksonville, Florida as "The John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse."

Judge Simpson was a native Floridian, born in Kissimmee, Florida on May 30th, 1903. He attended a local high school and The University of Florida, and graduated in 1926 from The University of Florida's faculty of law.

After law school he settled in Jacksonville, practiced law and eventually became an assistant state attorney from 1933 until 1939. Subsequently he became a Judge, and served from 1939 until 1943. In 1950 he was nominated by President Truman to serve on the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida, and in 1966, after being nominated by President Johnson, he joined the 5th circuit court of appeals.

Judge Simpson was an active participant in the struggle for civil rights and was instrumental in desegregating Duval County, Orange, and Daytona Beach. An agent for change in the Jim Crow south, his judicial orders desegregated the schools, city pools, city golf courses, and the city zoo. As a result of his personal courage he became the subject of numerous death threats and cross burnings.

It is well known that Martin Luther King himself appeared before Judge Simpson and argued for a reversal on a ban on nighttime civil rights marches in St. Augustine. Within a week Judge Simpson issued an order in support of King's appeal.

"Judge Simpson was known as the giant of the federal legal system in Jacksonville. He was a man of great courage and exquisite fairness, and it is most fitting that the new courthouse in Jacksonville is being named in his honor. I am thrilled that this bill has now been formally signed into law!" said Congresswoman Brown.

http://www.house.gov/list/press/fl03_brown/pr_061016.html