Washington, D.C., January 28, 1999 (IKA) – A reception was held for Judge Edward J. Damich by the Washington chapter of Almae Matris Alumni Croaticae, the alumni and friends of Croatian universities, at the Croatian Catholic Mission in Washington, D.C., on the occasion of his recent appointment as a judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the highest position in the American legal system to be occupied by a Croatian American. “We are particularly grateful to Edward Damich for his extensive and generous participation in the activities of the Croatian-American community. As the first president of the National Federation of Croatian Americans, an organization encompassing most of the major Croatian organizations in the U.S., Edward Damich led a number of delegations to Congress and the White House during the recent war in Croatia. Throughout his public life, he has always spoken of his Croatian and Catholic origins with great pride,” said Dr. Tea Kalebić, president of the Washington chapter of Almae Matris Alumni Croaticae (AMAC). At the reception following the celebration of the Mass, Judge Edward J. Damich spoke to those assembled about his Catholic faith and Croatian heritage. Judge Damich also issued an exclusive statement to IKA: “… In thanking AMAC and the attendees, I spoke about my Croatian heritage and how my family came to the U.S. in the beginning of the 20th century from Severin na Kupi and Delnice, in the Gorski Kotar region of Croatia. I also had occasion to speak about my Catholic faith. My parents, John and Josephine Damich, in addition to the values of education and hard work, instilled in me a deep faith and a love of the Catholic Church. Being Catholic was also part of my Croatian heritage … My career and my life have not been just one big success story. There were a number of occasions when I was profoundly distressed. In one particular incident, I was unjustly accused of unprofessional behavior and I thought my political career was over. During that time, I was sustained by my faith and I was able to take great comfort in the constant love and protection of the Lord. Our Catholic faith has similarly sustained us Croats throughout the often tragic history of our people. No matter how great the suffering, we clung to our faith and to our sense of nationhood. Now that God has blessed Croatia with independence, I pray that He will continue to show the Croatian people his grace and loving-kindness that the Croatian people may be a virtuous people and that Croatia may be free and independent until the end of time,” said Judge Edward J. Damich in his statement to IKA.
Judge Damich was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims on October 22, 1998 by President Bill Clinton for a term of 15 years. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 19, 1948, and raised in Miami, Florida. His parents, John and Josephine Damich were also born in Pittsburgh, and his great-grandfather in Severin na Kupi. Edward J. Damich received his higher education from Stephen#!s College, Catholic University and Columbia University. From 1984 to 1998, he was a professor of law at George Mason University. From 1976 to 1984, he was a professor of law at the Delaware Law School of Widener University. Most recently, Judge Damich taught intellectual property subjects, such as copyright law, unfair trade practices and the international protection of intellectual property. From 1995 to 1998, Judge Damich served as the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which time he assisted the Chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch, with the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the most significant change in copyright law since the Copyright Act of 1976. Judge Damich also worked on the Omnibus Patent Act, which would have reorganized the Patent and Trademark Office and which would have made important changes to patent law.