WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman’s (R-OH) bill to rename the federal building and courthouse on West 2nd Street in downtown Dayton after Senior United States District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. U.S. Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH-10) introduced the companion legislation in the House. The bill now awaits action by the House.

 

“Judge Rice has spent his career in service to Montgomery County, and it is fitting that the Dayton courthouse, where he has devoted nearly four decades of his life, bears his name,” said Brown. “I join Sen. Portman and Rep. Turner in gratitude for Judge Rice’s service to the Dayton community as we work together to honor his legacy.”   

 

“For more than four decades, Judge Rice has been a tireless advocate for justice, the people of Dayton, and the state of Ohio,” said Portman.  “This is a fitting tribute to his life’s work, and I join Senator Brown and Rep. Turner in thanking him for his service.”

 

“The panel I assembled chose Judge Rice to be the namesake of the federal building in downtown Dayton, a fitting tribute for one of our community’s most dedicated public servants,” said Rep. Turner. “Today’s passage of this bill in the Senate brings us one step closer to formally naming this building.”

 

President Carter appointed Judge Rice to the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 1980. Judge Rice served as Chief Judge of the court from 1996 until 2003. Before joining the federal bench, he served Montgomery County as an Assistant County Prosecutor, a Municipal Court Judge, and a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. 

 

 

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