Retired U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer of the Northern District of Texas died Sept. 21. He was 76. In 1979, then-President Jimmy Carter appointed Buchmeyer to the federal bench in Dallas. Buchmeyer decided a number of controversial cases in the 1980s and 1990s, including Walker v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, et al. , which expanded public housing in Dallas, and Williams v. City of Dallas , which changed the way Dallas City Council members were elected from an at-large system to a single-member district system. Decades before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) — in which the court overturned Texas’ sodomy law by holding that sexual intimacy between two consenting adults is part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the 14th Amendment — Buchmeyer was the first judge to rule that the state’s sodomy law was unconstitutional. However, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently overturned Buchmeyer’s decision in that case, Baker v. Wade . “He was a real giant. He was respected for his independence, for his courage and for his intellect,” says Chief Judge Sidney Fitzwater of the Northern District of Texas. “And like everyone, we enjoyed his humor.” A memorial service for Buchmeyer will be held on Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. at the Belo Mansion in Dallas. Texas Lawyer law editor Jacylyn Gardner asked lawyers and judges to share their favorite memories of Buchmeyer. Here is what they said, edited for length and style.
“Judge Buchmeyer was giving a speech at a U.S. Constitution day observance/celebration during the Reagan administration. He announced that in honor of the day, the Justice Department was going to actually comply with the Constitution — for that day and then only during the lunch hour.”
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