WASHINGTON, November 10, 2003 -- Congressman Charles Rangel today joined in honoring a great American jurist with the dedication of the James L. Watson Court of International Trade Building in Lower Manhattan.

Cong. Rangel authored the legislation, which was passed by the Senate on July 31 and the House on My 19.  The bill was first introduced in th

There could be no more fitting action by my colleagues in Congress than to name the United States Court of International Trade Building after the late Judge Watson. His name will now be attached to the courthouse, located at 1 Federal Plaza, in New York, where he served for 36 years until his death in 2001.

Judge Watson was appointed to what was then the United States Customs Court in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.  Reorganized and renamed by Congress in 1980, the court deals primarily with matters involving trade, including the classification and valuation of imported goods, tariffs, customs and duties and charges of unfair practices by U.S. trading partners.

I first introduced the bill in the 107th Congress when it was passed in the House but failed to be brought up in the hectic closing days of the Senate last year.  I commend Chairman Young and Ranking Member Oberstar for working with me on this initiative in the House and their willingness to move the legislation early in the 108th Congress. I also wish to commend Chairman James Jeffords and, of course, Sen. Hillary Clinton, who guided the bill to passage in the Senate.

Judge James L. Watson was a fine man, a distinguished jurist and a pillar of the Harlem community where he was born.  I was honored to have served as one of his law clerks soon after my graduation from law school.

Judge Watson was the nation's most senior African American federal judge, and was the first Black Customs Court judge in modern times assigned to cases in the deep South.  As was the practice in the Customs Court, he was also assigned to preside over various criminal and civil matters in Federal District Courts across the country. 

The scion of an accomplished family of lawyers, public servants and business people with roots in Jamaica, West Indies, Judge Watson had a distinguished career in New York, prior to his service on the Court of International Trade.  After his service in the U.S. Army in WWII, he graduated from New York University and Brooklyn Law School.  Moving from the private practice of law into the political arena, he was elected to the New York State Senate, where he served from 1954 to 1963, when he was elected to the Civil Court.

Long before this legislation, Judge Watson had placed his stamp on the functioning of the Court of International Trade.  In 1970, he helped modernize the court, bringing it more in line with the rest of the federal judiciary and, as chairman of its committee on rules and practices, was instrumental in rewriting its rules and communications systems.

Judge Watson was a trail blazer in government and the law, with a reputation for fairness, good judgment, and the common touch with people.  I will never be able to thank him enough for his service to our community and to our nation.  More personally, I will be forever grateful  for the opportunity he provided me as a young lawyer and the wisdom he instilled, which guides me to this day.