Bill Text: GA SR432 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

Georgia Senate Resolution 432 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr. Memorial Highway; dedicate

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-21 - Senate Read and Referred [SR432 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-SR432-Introduced.html

11 LC 34 3038

Senate Resolution 432

By: Senators Davis of the 22nd and Stone of the 23rd

A RESOLUTION

Celebrating the life of Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr., and dedicating a road in his memory; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the State of Georgia recently lost one of her most distinguished public servants, innovative legal minds, and civil rights advocate with the passing of the Honorable John H. Ruffin, Jr.; and

WHEREAS, Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr., became the 62nd Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia when he was administered the oath of office by Governor Zell Miller on August 24, 1994, after 33 years of practicing law and serving on the superior court bench; and

WHEREAS, Judge Ruffin was born and reared in Waynesboro, Burke County, Georgia, the son of John H. Ruffin, Sr., and Anna Davis Ruffin, and he was a graduate of Waynesboro High and Industrial School, Morehouse College, and Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, he was admitted to the Georgia Bar on July 5, 1961; and

WHEREAS, he was appointed a Superior Court Judge of the Augusta Judicial Circuit in 1986 by Governor Joe Frank Harris and he continued to serve as a superior court judge until his appointment to the Court of Appeals; and

WHEREAS, in addition to being the first African American Superior Court Judge for the Augusta Judicial Circuit, Judge Ruffin was also the first African American member of the Augusta Bar Association, and the third African American and first African American Chief Judge to serve on the Court of Appeals of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, in addition to his membership in the State Bar of Georgia, Judge Ruffin was a member of the bars of the Supreme Court of Georgia, United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Judge Ruffin had many professional, civic and religious affiliations, including: Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia; Council of Juvenile Court Judges of Georgia; Tenth Judicial Administrative District; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Institute of Continuing Judicial Education; Georgia Commission on Gender Bias; Court Reform Committee, Governor's Conference on Justice in Georgia; Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Georgia Advisory Council to the Legal Services Program; Judicial Nominating Commission; Georgia Conference of Black Lawyers, Inc.; State Bar Judicial Compensation Committee; American Judicature Society; National Bar Association; American Bar Association; Augusta Bar Association; and the Atlanta Bar Association; and

WHEREAS, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Council of Superior Court Judges and was on track to become the first African American to serve as President of the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals; and

WHEREAS, Judge Ruffin and his beautiful wife, Judith, had one son, Brinkley, and two grandsons, Bryson and Myles; and

WHEREAS, Judge Ruffin and his family are members of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that a lasting memorial to the life and outstanding career of Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr., be established.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the members of this body celebrate the life and outstanding career and many accomplishments of Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr., and dedicate the portion of SR 25 beginning at SR 88 to the Burke County line as the Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr. Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr. Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the family of Judge John H. Ruffin, Jr., and the Department of Transportation.