Senate Resolution 134 - Introduced
PAG LIN
S.R. ________ H.R. ________
1 1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY McCOY, APPEL, FRAISE, DEARDEN, QUIRMBACH,
1 3 OLIVE, SENG, HORN, WARNSTADT, DVORSKY, HECKROTH,
1 4 DOTZLER, BEALL, SCHMITZ, RAGAN, STEWART,
1 5 CONNOLLY, KIBBIE, GRONSTAL, COURTNEY, BOLKCOM,
1 6 RIELLY, SCHOENJAHN, WOOD, HANCOCK, DANIELSON,
1 7 and HATCH
1 8 A Resolution to honor Ms. Roxanne Barton Conlin for over
1 9 four decades of service as an activist, community
1 10 leader, and attorney advocate for the people.
1 11 WHEREAS, the life and career of Ms. Conlin are a
1 12 remarkable combination of dedication to public service
1 13 and hard work, which serve as a model to all young
1 14 people of this state; and
1 15 WHEREAS, at the age of sixteen, Ms. Conlin entered
1 16 Drake University, and five years later graduated with
1 17 honors from Drake University Law School, being one of
1 18 three women in her class and one of only 1,500 female
1 19 law students nationwide, later completing her formal
1 20 education with a degree in public administration; and
1 21 WHEREAS, from 1969 through 1976, Ms. Conlin served
1 22 with distinction as an Assistant Attorney General for
1 23 the state of Iowa, heading the civil rights section;
1 24 and
1 25 WHEREAS, in 1977, Ms. Conlin was one of the
1 26 nation's first two women to be appointed as a United
1 27 States Attorney, during which period she served as
1 28 president of the Federal Executive Council made up of
1 29 all federal agencies; and
1 30 WHEREAS, as a trial attorney, Ms. Conlin has
2 1 compiled an enviable record == she was elected the
2 2 first female president of the Association of Trial
2 3 Lawyers of America, selected one of only two women
2 4 members to the Inner Circle of Advocates, and awarded
2 5 more than 15 verdicts of $1 million or more in
2 6 discrimination cases; and
2 7 WHEREAS, in addition to a legal career, Ms. Conlin
2 8 has pursued a life of public service == she was the
2 9 Democratic Party's gubernatorial candidate in 1982,
2 10 she has served as president and general counsel of the
2 11 National Organization of Women's Legal Defense and
2 12 Education Fund, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party,
2 13 president of the Roscoe Pound Foundation, and she
2 14 founded and was the first chair of the Iowa Women's
2 15 Political Caucus; and
2 16 WHEREAS, Ms. Conlin is an advocate, supporter, and
2 17 foster caregiver for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa,
2 18 providing premium one=on=one care in her office and
2 19 home for numerous ill and needy animals, and serving
2 20 as an ambassador to ensure the financial stability of
2 21 the League; and
2 22 WHEREAS, while pursuing both her career and public
2 23 service, Ms. Conlin has been accorded wide
2 24 recognition, including induction into the Iowa Women's
2 25 Hall of Fame in 1981, selection to the Inner Circle of
2 26 Advocates, a group limited to the best 100 plaintiff
2 27 lawyers in America, selection as the 1997 Woman of the
2 28 Year by the Metro Women's Network, and receipt of the
2 29 Mary Louise Smith Award for Racial Justice from the
2 30 YWCA; and
3 1 WHEREAS, in a remarkable victory for all Iowans,
3 2 Ms. Conlin waged a seven=year legal battle with the
3 3 giant Microsoft corporation, ultimately forcing a $179
3 4 million settlement, the largest class action award to
3 5 date in Iowa; and
3 6 WHEREAS, with this settlement, hundreds of
3 7 thousands of Iowans who purchased Microsoft products
3 8 may claim generous refunds, with any unclaimed money
3 9 going to Iowa schools for the purchase of new
3 10 computers and to Iowa Legal Aid; NOW THEREFORE,
3 11 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
3 12 honors Ms. Roxanne Barton Conlin for a lifetime of
3 13 public service and professional distinction, dedicated
3 14 to the goal of achieving equality for all persons.
3 15 LSB 6534SS 82
3 16 jr/nh/8.1