Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center Renamed In Honor Of Justice Juanita Kidd Stout
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Lawyers, judges, and community leaders filled the lobby of Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice at 13th and Filbert Street for the building's official re-dedication ceremony on Thursday.
It was an effort that began in 1998 by the Philadelphia Bar Association. The goal: to rename the Criminal Justice Center after renowned Judge Juanita Kidd Stout. Twelve years later, City Council unanimously voted to approve the change to commemorate Stout, who was the first black woman elected to a U.S. court and the first to sit on a state Supreme Court. Thursday marked the official re-dedication in Judge Stout's honor.
"Not bad for a girl from a small town in Oklahoma," said Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Judge Ronald Castille. "She was conscientious, she was hard working, she was diligent and she was never afraid to take on the toughest criminal cases that we had in the system. She was that good."
President Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper unveiled a sample of two bronze plaques with Stout's likeness. She says that they will be installed in the Stout Center lobby this summer.
