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2017 SESSION

17103298D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 382
Offered February 8, 2017
Celebrating the life of Stephen Winston Bricker.
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Patrons-- Sturtevant, Dance, McClellan and Suetterlein; Delegate: Bourne
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WHEREAS, Stephen Winston Bricker of Richmond, a distinguished attorney and a passionate advocate for social justice who dedicated his life to the service of others, died on October 11, 2016; and

WHEREAS, a native of Richmond, Stephen Bricker grew up in Arlington and graduated from the American School in Japan after his family moved to Tokyo; and

WHEREAS, Stephen Bricker earned degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University and the University of Virginia, where he worked with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to establish a post-conviction assistance program for inmates who did not have the money to support their own legal defense; and

WHEREAS, Stephen Bricker’s post-conviction assistance program became a model for other law schools, and he fought for inmates’ rights in several high-profile cases; and

WHEREAS, in 1974, Stephen Bricker was hired by the ACLU to lead the Children’s Rights Project of Virginia, a unique program that helped more than 8,000 children in state foster care to be put up for adoption; and

WHEREAS, from 1975 to 1976, as a member of the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council, Stephen Bricker participated in the revision of the Code of Virginia related to juvenile justice, drafting sections on child neglect, foster care review, and the termination of parental rights; and

WHEREAS, Stephen Bricker co-led an ACLU voting rights program that was responsible for 18 cases filed in Virginia after the amendments to the Voting Rights Act in 1982; and

WHEREAS, a partner in the Richmond firm Bricker Anderson, PC, Stephen Bricker served as a former president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and on the boards of the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society and the Commonwealth Community Trust; in addition, he offered his leadership to the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority and the Neighborhood Legal Aid Society; and

WHEREAS, Stephen Bricker will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Janet; children, Louis and Melina, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Stephen Winston Bricker, a respected attorney and a tireless advocate for social justice; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Stephen Winston Bricker as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.