March 31, 2015 –  Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) spoke at the naming ceremony of the new federal courthouse downtown. Davis played a central role in securing construction funding and working with the community on the name for the courthouse. The courthouse will be designated the Judge James M. Carter and Judge Judith N. Keep Federal Courthouse at the Judge John S. Rhoades Federal Judicial Center.

“This is a fitting tribute to three legal trailblazers who had an enormous impact on the judicial community in San Diego,” said Davis. “It reflects the sense of many in San Diego’s legal community, who were inspired by these judges.”

In the 112th Congress, Davis introduced the first bill to name the new federal courthouse after Judges Carter and Keep. Judges Carter and Keep were chosen by San Diego’s legal community after Davis conducted a months long survey to ensure the community played a role in choosing the name of its new courthouse.

After redistricting in 2012, the new courthouse was no longer part of the Davis’s congressional district, instead now residing in the district of Congressman Scott Peters. Davis worked with Peters, who sponsored the bill in the 113th Congress, to get the naming bill through both the House and Senate. President Obama signed the bill into law on December 18, 2014.

In the House, Davis worked to keep funding for the completion of the courthouse on track, securing the hundreds of millions of federal dollars over nine years in several appropriations bills.