SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 26
(By Senators Yoder and Jenkins)
Honoring the United States Supreme Court Fellows Program and the
United States Supreme Court Historical Society and
acknowledging the significant historical ties between the West
Virginia State Capitol Building and the United States Supreme
Court Building.
Whereas, For over 30 years, the Supreme Court Fellows Program
has enabled exceptionally talented individuals to contribute to the
work of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Federal
Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts and the United States Sentencing Commission; and
Whereas, The Program was founded by Chief Justice Warren
Burger in 1973 to provide fellows an opportunity to study firsthand
both the administrative machinery of the federal judiciary and the
dynamics of interbranch relations; and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court Historical Society is
a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the collection
and preservation of the history of the Supreme Court of the United
States; and
Whereas, These two groups share a great appreciation for the
rich history of both the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Chamber and the West Virginia State Capitol Building, which were designed by the legendary architect Cass Gilbert; and
Whereas, Cass Gilbert took great care in planning the West
Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Chamber, personally designing the
decor, the bench and other furnishings, and later used his design
as the model for the courtroom in the Supreme Court of the United
States; and
Whereas, Those visiting the Senate today include Supreme Court
Fellows Carmen Gonzalez, James Oleson, Catherine Sevcenko and
Alison Weir; as well as Catherine Fitts, Supreme Court Curator;
Franz Jantzen, Supreme Court Photographer and Archivist; Kathy
Shurtleff, Assistant Director of the Supreme Court Historical
Society; and Jan Harbuly, Circuit Executive and Clerk of the United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Court; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate:
That the Senate hereby honors the United States Supreme Court
Fellows Program and the United States Supreme Court Historical
Society and acknowledges the significant historical ties between
the West Virginia State Capitol Building and the United States
Supreme Court Building; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward
a copy of this resolution to the appropriate officials from the
United States Supreme Court Fellows Program and the United States
Supreme Court Historical Society.