WHEREAS,
Judge Reynolds began practicing law in Philadelphia 30 years ago as an assistant public defender. He was appointed
to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 1986. In 1992, Judge Reynolds became the first state supervising judge to be appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, For seventeen years, Judge Reynolds served the City of Philadelphia as a Family Court judge and Administrative judge of the Philadelphia Family Court. Judge Reynolds's hands-on leadership of the Juvenile Court from 2000 to 2003 served as a national model; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure, he instructed young attorneys entering his courtroom on the importance of proper court procedure and preparation. At least 507 young assistant district attorneys reaped the benefit of Judge Reynolds's direction. Over the course of his career, Judge Reynolds remained in Family Court; he was unwilling to accept appointment to a more prestigious office; and
WHEREAS, Judge Reynolds enlisted in the military in 1959. He served our country on active duty on several tours between 1959 and 1965. Judge Reynolds was a briefing specialist at Langley Air Force Base with the Tactical Air Command until 1959, a highly decorated reconnaissance unit; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his career, his Honor has inspired youth to achieve. Judge Reynolds is a certified tennis teaching professional in a tennis program that provided over 100 scholarships and produced five American Tennis Association National Championships; and
WHEREAS, Judge Reynolds
is a recipient of Pennsylvania's Outstanding Judicial Leadership Award in 2003 from the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission and the Philadelphia Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award. Judge Reynolds founded the National Conference of Black Lawyers in Philadelphia. In 2006, he earned his LLM degree at Temple's Beasley School of Law
; now, therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor, recognize and commend Judge Abram Frank Reynolds for his efforts to promote youth development, representation, and justice.
FURTHER RESOLVED,That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to
Judge Abram Frank Reynolds
as evidence of the sincere sentiment of this legislative body.
End