Naming the Criminal Justice Center, located at Thirteenth and Filbert streets, the "Justice James T. McDermott Judicial Center", and authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to take appropriate action to carry out this Ordinance.

WHEREAS, The Honorable James T. McDermott was born in Philadelphia on September 26, 1926 and was a lifelong resident of the city he loved; and

WHEREAS, he attended Benjamin Franklin High School and Saint Joseph’s College prior to obtaining his degree from Temple University; and

WHEREAS, while successfully building a private law practice he ran for the Congress of the United States in 1958, and in 1963 he was the Republican candidate for Mayor of the City of Philadelphia in an election that until recently was one of the closest races in local political history; and

WHEREAS, in 1965 he was appointed by then Governor William Scranton to the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, a position to which the citizens of Philadelphia returned him by election; and

WHEREAS, in 1981 he ran for and was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, where he served with honor and distinction for more than a decade, where he was widely proclaimed as the “brightest light on the bench”, often disposing of the most difficult cases; and

WHEREAS, during that time he authored more than 440 opinions addressing the most profound issues affecting the citizenry of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, after passing from this earth, a vast majority of his fellow judges submitted a petition requesting that the name of the Criminal Justice Center be changed to honor his legacy of jurisprudence, a cause in which the judges still believe as strongly now as they did eight years ago; now therefore

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:

SECTION 1. The Criminal Justice Center, located at Thirteenth and Filbert streets, is hereby named the “Justice James T. McDermott Judicial Center”.

SECTION 2. The Commissioner of Public Property is hereby authorized to enter into any agreements necessary to effectuate this Ordinance, including entering into an amendment to the Lease dated as of July 15, 1991, under which the City leases the Criminal Justice Center from the Philadelphia Municipal Authority. Any such agreement shall be in form approved by the City Solicitor.

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