Several years ago, the Georgia legislature honored Judge Bootle with the following resolution:

                  Georgia Senate Resolution 604 (2000)
                                 A RESOLUTION
 
Honoring the extraordinary life and career of the Honorable
William Augustus Bootle; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, William Augustus Bootle was born in Walterboro, South Carolina, in 1902 and has lived most of his life in Macon, Georgia; and

WHEREAS, he graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 1925; and

WHEREAS, in 1928, at the age of 26 years, he was appointed an assistant U.S. Attorney by President Calvin Coolidge; and

WHEREAS, President Herbert Hoover appointed him U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia in 1929, a position he held until 1933, and he was appointed to a federal judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia by President Eisenhower in 1954; and

WHEREAS, he became the dean of Mercer University and was instrumental in creating the present charter for Mercer University in 1939; and

WHEREAS, his wisdom, innate sense of fairness, and unfailing good humor earned him many friends and admirers during the 23 years in which he served, many of which were marked with great challenges in this state and region; and

WHEREAS, as much as any federal judge in the South, Judge Bootle was in the vortex of the civil rights revolution; and

WHEREAS, in the face of popular and state government opposition, he ordered the admission of African American students to the University of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Judge Bootle, successfully navigated through tumultuous social currents to find an avenue for peacefully desegregating Bibb County's schools; and

WHEREAS, he also courageously ordered voter registrars to allow African Americans access to the polls; and

WHEREAS, Judge Bootle retired in 1970 and assumed senior judge status just days after the U.S. Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS, in June 1998, the federal courthouse in Macon was officially renamed the William Augustus Bootle Federal Building and United States Courthouse; and

WHEREAS, he is a devoted member of the First Baptist Church of Macon; and

WHEREAS, Judge William Augustus Bootle's illustrious career aptly demonstrated his uncommon intellect and fearless devotion to duty and it is justly fitting and proper that he be duly recognized.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize and honor the lifetime of service and achievement of the Honorable William Augustus Bootle, whose wise leadership and undeviating commitment to justice helped to change the course of history in the State of Georgia and earned him the enduring gratitude of its citizens.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Honorable William A. Bootle.