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“TRIBUTE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SCHOOL OF LAW AND GEORGIA GOV. CARL SANDERS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S5345 on May 21, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SCHOOL OF LAW AND GEORGIA GOV.
CARL SANDERS
Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize The University of Georgia School of Law's many years of accomplishments and achievements, and to honor former Governor of Georgia Carl Sanders, who graduated from UGA's Law School 50 years ago.
I would like to applaud the commitment and hard work of the entire law school community: the faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The reputation of the school continues to grow and prosper each year.
Over the years UGA has produced thousands of successful lawyers, including many leaders and policy makers. Since opening its doors in 1785, the law school has graduated five U.S. Senators, 30 Members of Congress, nine governors, including Gov. Carl Sanders, eight Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives and 54 Appellate Judges.
I recently had the opportunity to deliver the commencement speech to the 1998 graduating class of The University of Georgia School of Law and was reminded of the impact and value of the law.
In order for the law to be respected, and for us to be respected as authorities on the law--whether as lawyers, law enforcement or lawmakers--there must be a sense of morality behind the law. It is a basic historical fact that people will not obey unjust law.
As I look around Washington I see many reminders of the importance of the law. The inscription on the Supreme Court building is: ``Equal justice under law.'' There is an inscription over the 10th Street entrance of the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington which reads: ``Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of its citizens.'' Justice comes before the law. All of us who touch the law are bound by this justice and honor.
With justice and morality behind the law, we strengthen it. Without it, the law is weakened. If all of us who touch the law do not abide by these terms, the law loses its credibility. Ultimately, those of us who touch the law have a responsibility to lead others to respect it.
The men and women who have graduated from The University of Georgia with law degrees over the past two hundred years have and will continue to strengthen and uphold the law of this nation. I ask my colleagues in the Senate today to join me in saluting and congratulating The University of Georgia School of Law for instructing and graduating men and women who have shaped our nation's history during the last two centuries, including Gov. Carl Sanders and other Georgia lawmakers.
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