H.R. 842 is expected to be considered on the floor of the House on Tuesday, March 10, under a motion to suspend the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. This resolution was introduced by Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) on February 3, 2009.
H.R. 842 would designate the United States Courthouse to be constructed in Jackson, Mississippi, as the "R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse."
R. Jess Brown was an American civil rights lawyer who was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1912. Brown graduated from Texas Southern University Law School and served as a lawyer in Mississippi. While serving in the 1960s, Brown was one of only four black lawyers serving in Mississippi. During his time in the legal profession, Brown tried many significant civil rights cases, including a 1948 discrimination lawsuit on behalf of black teachers in Mississippi. Brown also represented James Meredith in a successful suit to break the color barrier at the University of Mississippi. In a number of other cases, Brown's clients were lynched before they faced criminal judgment. Brown died in 1990 at the age of 77.
According to a CBO estimate, enacting this legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget and would not affect direct spending or revenues.
