NEWS RELEASE

The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia  23185

Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us 

George S. Frazza Inducted into
 Warren E. Burger Society of the National Center for State Courts

Williamsburg, VA (Dec. 1, 2003) – George S. Frazza of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, was inducted on Nov. 21 into the National Center for State Courts’ Warren E. Burger Society. The Burger Society honors individuals who have demonstrated the highest commitment to improving the administration of justice through extraordinary contributions of service and support to the National Center for State Courts.

Chief Justice of the United States William H. Rehnquist and California Chief Justice Ronald M. George, chair of the National Center’s Board of Directors and president of the Conference of Chief Justices, recently inducted Mr. Frazza and other new members into the Burger Society at a luncheon in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Frazza was recognized for his years of service on the National Center’s General Counsel Committee and his current work with the Lawyers Committee. Mr. Frazza, former general counsel of Johnson & Johnson, has been a vocal proponent of the National Center’s work and mission and has supported the Center’s outreach to other organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Civil Justice Reform Group.

Inductees to the society are selected by a committee that is chaired by Texas attorney Charles M. Noteboom who commissioned the original portrait of Chief Justice Burger, which hangs in the National Center’s headquarters. Each new society members receives a limited edition print of the portrait, which is signed and numbered by the artist Fran Di Giacomo. Chief Justice Burger’s children own the first two prints and Chief Justice Rehnquist owns the last print, numbered 1986, the year Chief Justice Burger retired and Chief Justice Rehnquist took office.

The National Center, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a non-profit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National Center, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. The National Center also is taking the lead on several key issues facing the justice system. For example, it has established a major civil justice initiative, a multi-year project that is examining best practices in civil case management and how complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the National Center include judicial selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.  

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