Richmond Courthouse renamed for Judge Carroll

Photo courtesy of Globe Newspapers. Rep. George Miller and Judge George Carroll at the renaming ceremony of the Richmond Courthouse. The courthouse was renamed in honor of Judge Carroll, the first African American Judge to be appointed in Contra Costa County. Read more about the event in the Globe. Miller also entered the following remarks into the Congressional Record: Madame Speaker, I rise today and invite my colleagues to join me in honoring Judge George D. Carroll of Richmond, California, for his many years of service to the community. Judge Carroll has provided remarkable leadership to the citizens of Richmond and his legacy will be forever recognized as the Richmond Courthouse is renamed in his honor on October 16, 2009. George Carroll was born on January 6, 1923 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was stationed in Italy. Judge Carroll subsequently used his GI Benefits to attend college and law school, graduating from Brooklyn College in 1943 and Brooklyn Law School in 1950. Following his admittance to the New York Bar, he ran a private practice in New York from 1951 – 1952. In 1953 Judge Carroll moved to Richmond, California and his trailblazing legacy began. The same year he moved to Richmond, he became the city’s first African American lawyer to practice law; serving in private practice until 1965. Judge Carroll continued to break racial barriers in 1961 by becoming the first African American elected to the Richmond City Council. From 1964 – 1965 he served as Richmond’s first African American Mayor, a position previously unprecedented in any large American city. And finally, Judge Carroll became the first African American County Supervisor for Contra Costa County, California. Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown appointed Judge Carroll to the Contra Costa Municipal Court in May 1965 making him the first African American Judge to be appointed in Contra Costa County, where he served until his retirement in 1985. Judge Carroll is a founding member of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association and a lifetime member of the NAACP as well as the Sigma Pi Phi and Omega Psi Phi Fraternities. He is a former member of the Charles Houston Bar Association, California Judges Association, American Bar Association, American Judicature Society, World Association of Judge of the World Peace Through Law Center, Board of Governors of the United Bay Area Crusade, Richmond Boys’ Club and the Neighborhood House of North Richmond. Madame Speaker, as a result of Judge Carroll’s leadership, advocacy and promotion of equal rights, we as a community have benefitted tremendously. I am delighted to have this opportunity to recognize Judge Carroll’s tireless efforts and ask all Members of the House to join me in congratulating him as the Richmond Courthouse is officially renamed The George D. Carroll Courthouse.