H.R. No. 3 R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Texas House of Representatives is proud to honor 1-2 Judge John V. Singleton, Jr., whose retirement on June 1, 1992, 1-3 brought to a close a distinguished 26-year career on the bench; and 1-4 WHEREAS, Appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson, who 1-5 advised him, "Never forget the people," Judge Singleton has made 1-6 his influence felt in federal courthouses throughout the Southern 1-7 District of Texas, which stretches from Houston to the Rio Grande; 1-8 and 1-9 WHEREAS, In 1969, in a ruling against San Jacinto College 1-10 officials who had expelled a student for growing a beard in 1-11 violation of school regulations, he held that the officials had 1-12 failed to prove that any hairstyle "had a reasonable relationship 1-13 to the health, welfare, morals, and discipline of students"; and 1-14 WHEREAS, A year later, at the height of the Vietnam War 1-15 protest movement, Judge Singleton stood firm before political 1-16 pressure in ruling against the Houston City Council's attempt to 1-17 prevent the Houston Peace Coalition from parading through downtown; 1-18 and 1-19 WHEREAS, In other courageous rulings for the times in which 1-20 they were made, he held that a man arrested for refusing induction 1-21 into the U.S. armed forces should have been classified as a 1-22 conscientious objector because he had declared his moral opposition 1-23 to the Vietnam War on his draft registration form and that a 1-24 Houston nightclub could not deny membership to a black woman; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Such decisions as these laid the foundation for a 2-2 brilliant and often controversial judicial career that included a 2-3 decade of service as chief judge for the Southern District of 2-4 Texas, from 1978 through 1988; and 2-5 WHEREAS, Among his many accomplishments as chief judge were a 2-6 restructuring of the court reporter system that had come under 2-7 attack by the General Accounting Office in 1980 and a ruling in 2-8 1987 in favor of minority residents of Baytown who had filed a 2-9 lawsuit claiming that the at-large system of electing municipal 2-10 officials was a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and 2-11 denied them equal participation in the political process; and 2-12 WHEREAS, The decisions handed down by Judge Singleton during 2-13 his long and illustrious career have had a tremendous impact on 2-14 major legal and social issues of the past three decades; in abiding 2-15 by the advice given him by President Johnson, he has consistently 2-16 demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the vigorous defense of 2-17 human rights and personal freedoms; now, therefore, be it 2-18 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas 2-19 Legislature hereby honor Judge John V. Singleton, Jr., in grateful 2-20 recognition of his exemplary service as a federal district judge 2-21 and extend to him best wishes for many happy years of retirement; 2-22 and, be it further 2-23 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-24 prepared for Judge Singleton as an expression of high regard by the 2-25 Texas House of Representatives. 2-26 Texas House of Representatives. 2-27 Danburg 3-1 H.R. No. 3 3-2 _______________________________ 3-3 Speaker of the House 3-4 I certify that H.R. No. 3 was adopted by the House on March 3-5 11, 1993, by a non-record vote. 3-6 _______________________________ 3-7 Chief Clerk of the House