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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of the |
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Honorable Karen Jane Greene-Council, longtime state district judge |
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in the 282nd District Court in Dallas County, who passed away on |
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April 26, 2007, at the age of 50; and |
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WHEREAS, Judge Greene-Council grew up in the Oak Cliff |
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neighborhood of Dallas and graduated from the Hockaday School and |
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The University of Texas at Austin; and |
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WHEREAS, She worked for American Airlines for 10 years in New |
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York City, where she met and dated comedian Jerry Seinfeld; she was |
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involved in the incident that inspired the famous 1992 "Pez |
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Dispenser" episode of the Seinfeld television series, which |
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featured a crescendo of uncontrollable laughter that wrecked a |
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piano recital; and |
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WHEREAS, After returning to Texas to attend Southern |
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Methodist University School of Law, Judge Greene-Council became |
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interested in criminal law; she worked as a briefing attorney at the |
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Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas and then served as a prosecutor in |
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the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, where she held the |
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distinction of never losing a felony jury trial as lead attorney; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, When George W. Bush became the governor of Texas, he |
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selected Judge Greene-Council to be his criminal justice advisor, |
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and for two years she was involved in all aspects of the statewide |
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criminal justice system, including legislation, victim's projects, |
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juvenile law, parole, and executions; and |
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WHEREAS, Governor Bush appointed her as state district judge |
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of the 282nd District Court in 1997; as a criminal judge, she |
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presided over serious felony trials involving capital murder, |
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aggravated robbery, rape, and child abuse and handled five |
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death-penalty cases; in her 10 years on the bench, she was never |
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reversed on appeal; and |
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WHEREAS, In November 1999, Judge Greene-Council was |
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diagnosed with stage III-b breast cancer, and following a |
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mastectomy and the removal of cancerous lymph nodes, she began a |
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rigid schedule of chemotherapy followed by 33 rounds of radiation; |
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after the cancer went into remission, she participated in a phase I |
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clinical trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to prevent |
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recurrence; and |
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WHEREAS, Active in a variety of community organizations, she |
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served on the board and as a volunteer at Gilda's Club and the |
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Volunteer Center Community Council, and she also was a member of the |
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boards of the Dallas Youth Services Corps, the Dallas County |
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Juvenile Board, Children's Medical Center, and the Dallas Women |
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Lawyers Association; and |
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WHEREAS, Judge Greene-Council became well known for her |
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volunteer work related to cancer, as well as for sharing her |
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experiences as a cancer survivor; in 2003, she was honored to |
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receive the Macy's Heart and Soul award for her work in the cancer |
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community; she has been published and featured in a wide range of |
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media, including Cure magazine, The New Yorker, UPN's "Positively |
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Texas," and John Hammarley's "4 Your Health" series on Fox 4 |
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television; she often spoke to survivor and professional groups |
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about the life-changing experience of being diagnosed with cancer, |
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and she was quoted in the Summer 2007 issue of Heal magazine as |
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saying, "My doctors regretfully told me that I had a poor |
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prognosis. I learned that the best therapy was to never deny myself |
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pleasures such as naps, long laugh-filled dinners with friends, and |
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shoes"; and |
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WHEREAS, When this courageous woman was hospitalized in April |
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2007 after a recurrence led to a collapsed lung, she told her |
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friends, "How can anyone say cancer beat me, when I am going to meet |
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my maker?"; and |
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WHEREAS, After a week of saying good-bye to family members |
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and numerous friends, including the president and the attorney |
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general of the United States, she died peacefully in the early |
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morning of April 26, 2007, at her home in East Dallas, with her |
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husband, John Council, and her two dogs, Sam and Taz, at her side; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the memory of the Honorable Karen Jane |
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Greene-Council and offer sincere condolences to her husband, John |
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Council, and to the other members of her family; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Judge Karen |
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Greene-Council. |
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Branch |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2842 was adopted by the House on May |
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26, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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