An excellent resource guide http://tarltonguides.law.utexas.edu/fisher-ut provides the text of selected court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The guide also includes news coverage and law review articles about the Fisher case, and some basic information on UT student body profiles and statistics since 2008.

W. George Allen

By Matt Walker
Senior writer

The University of Florida Levin College of Law will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the graduation of W. George Allen with a special afternoon program at the law school. In 1962, Allen helped pave the way for generations of students in Florida by becoming the first African-American to graduate from the University of Florida and UF Law.

The celebration will be held Friday at 3 p.m. in UF Law’s Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom. It is co-sponsored by the University of Florida Alumni Association and Association of Black Alumni, Levin College of Law and Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. The event is free and open to the public.

The program will be hosted by UF Association of Black Alumni President Terry Nealy and Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations Director Katheryn Russell-Brown, with comments from UF Law Dean Robert Jerry, UF Provost Joseph Glover, Northern Florida District Judge Stephan Mickle and attorney Harley Herman. There will also be reflections from UF Law alumni and attorneys including Ava Parker and Chris Chestnut.

Presentations will feature a keynote speech from Allen, a look back at the desegregation of Florida and the legacy of Virgil Hawkins. Hawkins was denied admission to UF Law in 1949 based solely on his race and fought for admission until 1958, when he withdrew his application in exchange for a Florida Supreme Court order desegregating UF’s graduate and professional schools.

The celebration will conclude with the unveiling of a special plaque on the UF Law campus honoring Allen.

Allen was accepted into UF Law in 1960, after he graduated from Florida A&M and served two years in the Army. Living in California at the time, Allen turned down law school admissions to Berkeley and Harvard. He said he was intent on returning to the South to be where the “action” was, referring to the civil rights struggles that were bubbling to the surface.

After graduating from UF Law in 1962, Allen moved to Fort Lauderdale, where he helped lead the fight for the integration of Broward County’s public school system, and established his own practice, where he has specialized in trial work, probate, personal injury, insurance defense and wrongful death law.

Earlier on Friday at UF Law, the CSRRR will moderate the panel discussion, “Leadership and Law: Diverse Perspectives on the Role of Race and Participation in Professional Legal Organizations.” The event begins with a reception and luncheon at noon, followed by the discussion from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The panel will feature leaders from national, state, and local bar associations looking at how race has influenced the past, present and future of their respective organization. The goal of the event is to foster a dialogue on avenues for leadership and joint initiatives that transcend racial and other divides. RSVP here by the end of today.

The symposium is a joint initiative of UF Law’s Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations, the 8th Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and the Josiah T. Walls Bar Association.

The 3 p.m. Allen celebration kicks off UF’s Black Alumni Weekend in Gainesville Friday through Sunday. The weekend honors civil rights pioneers who were instrumental in desegregating the state’s universities and offers the opportunity to reunite Gators from every decade so they leave Gainesville closer and stronger than ever before. Read more. (Note: Details of some BAW events are tentative. Check the site closer to the weekend for finalized information.)

Tickets are still available to see five Florida governors who will convene Friday in Gainesville to discuss critical issues impacting the future of the Sunshine State for the Florida Law Review’s second installment of the Allen L. Poucher Legal Education Series. The event, entitled “Florida’s Future: A Conversation with Florida Governors,” will be held at 10 a.m. at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Doors will open at 9:15 a.m., and the event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and available for students from the UF Law Office of Student Affairs, Doris Perron for faculty and staff, and the CPA box office.

Gov. Reubin Askew, Gov. Charlie Crist, Gov. Bob Graham, Gov. Buddy MacKay and Gov. Bob Martinez are confirmed to participate on the panel. Former Florida Law Review editor-in-chief and University of Florida Law alum Ben Diamond (JD 03) will serve as moderator.

No backpacks or large bags will be permitted at the event. For more details and to submit a question to the panel of governors, visit the Florida Law Review’s website, or contact the office at 352-273-0670. The parking garage next to the Phillips Center is available to attendees for event parking. Additionally, parking restrictions at the Park & Ride Lot #2 (behind the Hilton) and at the Bledsoe Drive lot (adjacent to the University Village field) will be lifted for the event.

The Allen L. Poucher Legal Education Series was established by Betty K. Poucher in honor of her late husband, Allen L. Poucher Sr. A humanitarian who lived a life dedicated to service, Allen Poucher graduated from UF Law in 1942 and practiced law for more than 60 years. The Poucher Legal Education Series seeks to provide a venue for prominent legal, political and business leaders to discuss important issues facing our nation and world today.

UF Law Professor Rachel Rebouché and Marquette University Adjunct Professor Richard Esenberg held a civil discourse regarding same-sex marriage Oct. 3. (Photo by Nicole Safker)

By Nicole Safker (JD 12)
Staff writer

As election season approaches, the debate over same-sex marriage remains a hot topic.

Supporters from both sides gathered in the Chesterfield Smith Memorial Classroom on Oct. 3 for “A Conversation on Same-Sex Marriage,” an event billed as a “civil discourse about same-sex marriage” focusing on “secular arguments for and against the legalization of same-sex marriage,” according to the event’s sponsors, the UF Federalist Society and the UF Law chapter of OUTLaw gay-straight alliance.

UF Law Professor Rachel Rebouché presented the arguments for the legalization of same-sex marriage, while Marquette University adjunct professor Richard Esenberg, who also serves as the longtime director of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty,  presented arguments against legalization.

The discourse was nuanced and academic, focusing on secular arguments that often take a backseat to arguments centered in religious morality and the meaning of the institution of marriage.

Professor Esenberg called for restraint in changing the institution of marriage, because there are certain “costs to recognizing same-sex marriage,” including the possible effects legalization may have on children. He also underscored the belief that children get certain benefits from being raised in a household with their biological mother and father and that children have an “innate desire” to be raised in such a household.

In addition, Esenberg challenged the idea that gender is not important to the institution of marriage. “The notion that gender does not matter when it comes to marriage and intimate relationships is unlikely to be true,” he said.

Rebouché summarized her understanding of Esenberg’s argument, saying she did not necessarily disagree that “law as commissioned to expand marriage to same-sex couples has cultural reverberations that change societal understanding of what marriage is and what it does.”

However, Rebouché said, that argument is based on certain “assertions that must be true for opponents’ arguments to stand,” including religious and gender-based stereotypes.

“What really seems to set apart same-sex marriage for its opponents is based on the differences of same-sex households and opposite-sex households,” Rebouche said.

Rebouché continued by describing the vision of marriage as “promoting a communitarian vision of public good,” and argued that including same-sex couples in that vision would not be counter to the societal benefits furthered by marriage.

“I am very aware of the communitarian argument for same-sex marriage,” Esenberg said in response.  He described concerns about allowing same-sex couples to marry based on the benefits of marriage to society, citing “unintended consequences” that may occur and again calling for restraint.

“We ought to proceed carefully because we don’t know what effect rapid changes in social institutions will have,” Esenberg said.

Esenberg cited the “no-fault divorce” movement as an example of such a change with unintended consequences. Those consequences included a higher number of divorces, lower incentives to keep families together and a disparate impact on poor people, he said.

Finally, Esenberg addressed the issue of stigmatization of same-sex relationships. He said that opponents of same-sex marriage “don’t intend to stigmatize anyone,” but that “men and women experience sexuality very differently,” and that these varied experiences of sexuality play a role in the stability of heterosexual married relationships.

This event was the second of its kind co-sponsored by OUTLaw and the Federalist Society. Last year, UF Law Professor Danaya Wright and Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, debated the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law banning legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Last year, as part of diversity month, University of Florida LGBT Affairs created a “Making it Better” video, which is a compilation of UF faculty, support staff, and students and can be viewed here.

Donning a wizard’s robe and hat, Danaya Wright, Clarence J. TeSelle Professor of Law, discussed the law and the absence of law in the magical world of Harry Potter. Her Sept. 27 discussion, “Curses, Crimes and Covenants: The Law and Harry Potter,” analyzed a variety of legal issues within the wildly successful Harry Potter books and movies.

“Thinking critically of Rowling’s magical world can help us to think about our own laws, what they do, what they constrain, and ultimately who benefits from them,” Wright said.

Wright spoke on issues such as privacy law, gun/wand control and criminal punishments. She highlighted similarities and differences between the law of Wemuggles – those without magic – and the law within Harry Potter’s world – why some laws are unnecessary in the wizarding world, and why other situations demand a different kind of law.

Wright also hypothesized why these differences may make sense in a world of diverse creatures with various magical capabilities and stated that the presence or absence of magic changes the ground rules of how and why laws are created.

“If a wizard can apparate (teleport) into anyone’s house, what kind of privacy laws could be designed to protect wizard liberties?” Wright asked. “In other words, are certain laws not necessary because wizards have more information or are better able to uncover the truth, and do they need other laws because of their unique capabilities?”

Students, faculty, staff, and the public gathered in Smathers Library for this lecture as part of Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine, a traveling exhibit from the National Library of Medicine. This exhibit, hosted by the UF Health Science Center Library, ran from Aug. 28 through Oct. 4. Accompanying the exhibit were speaker and film series featuring presentations by faculty from UF and beyond.

Wright has also contributed to The Law and Harry Potter by writing about how family law is represented in the series.

The Levin College of Law is holding a free barbecue for all students, faculty and staff Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Marcia Whitney Schott Courtyard. Vegetarian options are also available. The food is from Hill’s Bar-B-Que in Gainesville and the event is sponsored by the Gene K. and Elaine Glasser Endowment. The Glassers, who are both UF alumni, have sponsored the event for the past several years. They hope the annual event will foster a greater sense of community among people at the law school. “The law school education I received at the University of Florida has greatly influenced my professional and personal life, creating lasting memories with my friends,” said Gene Glasser, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who received his juris doctor degree from UF Law in 1972. The event is a great chance for incoming students to get to know one another and feel like a part of the law school community. During the event, the Office of Communications will post photos on the UF Law Facebook page and we invite attendees to submit their comments on the photos to thank the Glassers for their contributions to the law school.

Join UF Friday to honor black leadership

• Leadership and Law: Diverse Perspectives on the Role of Race and Participation in Professional Legal Organizations (CLE Credit Anticipated), 12-2:30 p.m., Friday, Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center. Welcome reception and luncheon noon-1 p.m.; panel presentation 1-2:30 p.m. with leaders from national, state, and local bar associations discussing how race has influenced the past, present, and future of their respective organizations in order to foster a dialogue on avenues for leadership and joint initiatives that transcend racial and other divides. Funded by The Florida Bar in cooperation with the 8th Judicial Circuit Bar Association, the Josiah T. Walls Bar Association and Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. RSVP for the free event by the end of today here.
• A celebration honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Graduation of the University of Florida and Levin College of Law’s First Black alumnus: W. George Allen, featuring presentations by W. George Allen and other honored guests, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (HOL 180). Co-sponsored by the University of Florida Alumni Association and Association of Black Alumni, Levin College of Law & Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. Read more.

Harvard law professor discusses same-sex marriage at Weyrauch Lecture Oct. 18

The Weyrauch Distinguished Lecture in Family Law will feature Harvard Law School Professor Janet Halley on “Traveling Marriage: Why the Campaign for Same Sex Marriage Gets Marriage Wrong,” Thursday, Oct. 18, at noon in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180. Hosted by the Center for Children and Families, this lecture was established in honor of Professor Walter O. Weyrauch, internationally known for his work in foreign and family law. Professor Weyrauch joined the UF Law faculty in 1957 as associate professor. He became professor in 1960, was Clarence J. TeSelle Professor 1989-94, and became Stephen C. O’Connell Chair in 1994 and distinguished professor in 1998. A reception will follow the lecture.

Halley is the Royall Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches courses in family law, comparative family law and sexuality, and legal theory. Before teaching at Harvard, she was professor of law at Stanford Law School (1991-2000) and assistant professor of English at Hamilton College (1980-85). She has a Ph.D. in English from UCLA (1980) and a J.D. from Yale Law School (1988).

Her books include After Sex? On Writing Since Queer Theory, co-edited with Andrew Parker (Duke University Press 2011); Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism (Princeton University Press 2006); Left Legalism/Left Critique, co-edited with Wendy Brown (Duke University Press, 2002); Don’t: A Reader’s Guide to the Military’s Anti-Gay Policy (Duke Univ. Press, 1999); and Seeking the Woman in Late Medieval and Renaissance Literature: Essays in Feminist Contextual Criticism, co-edited with Sheila Fisher (University of Tennessee Press, 1989). Her current projects include a handbook, What’s Not to Like about Sexual Harassment Law; a paper comparing family law systems entitled “Travelling Marriage;” and a critique of the rules about sexual violence in war established by the ad hoc courts convened to adjudicate war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Criminal Justice Center, Criminal Law Association hosts criminal video-advocacy competition

The Criminal Justice Center and the Criminal Law Association is pleased to host its inaugural criminal video-advocacy competition this fall. The competition solicits submissions by student teams of an original, creative and educational video portrayal of Fourth Amendment issues geared toward a college-student audience

• Cash prizes will be awarded for first through third places.
• All law students enrolled at the Levin College of Law are eligible to enter.
• Deadline for submissions is Oct. 22. Winners will be announced Nov. 10.
• The submissions will be evaluated by members of a judging panel; criteria include clarity of thought, well-structured argumentation, creative use of videography and liveliness of expression.

Decisions of the judging panel will be final. Complete rules of the competition are available at the CJC website (www.law.ufl.edu/academics/centers/cjc) or can be obtained from Eva Achero in Room 100, Bruton-Geer Hall.

LIC Notes: Supreme Court Case Fisher v. University of Texas Resource Guide

The United States Supreme Court began hearing arguments for cases on Monday at the start of the 2012 October Term. The court currently has 31 cases scheduled to be heard before the end of the calendar year.  On Wednesday, the Court will hear arguments for Fisher v. University of Texas. The question presented in this case is “Whether the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in undergraduate admissions decisions is lawful under this court’s decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, including Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003).”

An excellent resource guide http://tarltonguides.law.utexas.edu/fisher-ut provides the text of selected court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The guide also includes news coverage and law review articles about the Fisher case, and some basic information on UT student body profiles and statistics since 2008.

UF Trial Team congratulates, welcomes new members

The UF Trial Team welcomes Robert Andrade, Kathryn Bennett, Logan Doll, Dane Heptner, Joseph Herro, Daniel Jensen, Insiya Joher, Justin McConnell, Stephanie Moncada, Katrina Self, Brittany Smaridge, Ruby Smith, Kelli Sutton, Michael Tricoli and Nadine Williams. The team and UF Law wish success to the following students in the upcoming Final Four Competition at 1 p.m., Oct. 19, in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center: Katrina Self and Brittany Smaridge representing the State of Sparta and Justin McConnell and Insiya Joher representing Trent Burrows, the defendant. Trial Team thanks all who participated in this year’s UF Trial Team Intramural Competition.

9th Annual Minority Law Student Picnic set for Nov. 10

The 9^th Annual Minority Law Student Picnic will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Hialeah, Fla. In the past, UF Law alumnus Judge Paul Huck has assisted with connecting Florida Law students with a mentor.  If you are interested in having a mentor, complete the student application.  Each year many UF law students attend this picnic by traveling themselves or on the bus provided by the law school. The trip to Hialeah will take approximately five hours, and the bus will depart from Gainesville at approximately 7 a.m. The bus will begin the return trip around 4:15 p.m. If you are interested in attending the picnic and riding on the bus, sign up at the Student Affairs Office front desk by Monday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. and complete the release form to ride the bus.

Conservation Clinic students, faculty explore Chasshowitza River

Students and faculty from the Conservation Clinic enjoyed the first taste of fall weather on a field trip down the Chasshowitza River.

The “Chaz,”  as it is known, is one of the most undisturbed rivers on Florida’s Springs Coast. Students received lectures on the unique and compounding issues that spring-fed coastal rivers face from the diversion of freshwater flow for human use and sea level rise.

Pursuant to a state law requiring it to establish “minimum flows and levels,” the Southwest Florida Water Management District is proposing to allow a reduction in the flow in the Chazz by 9 percent.

GreenLaw continues to restore, manage Law School Woods

Students, faculty and friends of UF’s GreenLaw spent last Saturday morning continuing GreenLaw’s commitment to restoring and managing the Law School Woods. GreenLaw will be hosting the Environmental Conference EcoRun in January from the Law School Woods pavilion and is planning another workday in anticipation of that event.

William J. Wilkins, chief counsel for the IRS and assistant general counsel in the Treasury Department, lectured Sept. 28 to UF Law students, faculty and staff. (Photo by Cela Suter)

By Francie Weinberg
Student writer

The chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service returned to UF Law Sept. 28 to present a lecture in which he encouraged students to embrace tax law.

William J. Wilkins, who also is assistant general counsel in the Treasury Department, presented  “How IRS Lawyers Contribute to Sound Tax Enforcement” as part of the Graduate Tax Program Enrichment Speaker Series to a full Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom.

Wilkins has worked in tax law since graduating with a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In his lecture, he discussed the role of tax lawyers in the IRS and how they contribute to sound tax administration.

“The bulk of the work is taking care of tax court petitions,” Wilkins said. “This is essential to our mission, which includes providing for uniform, correct and impartial application of the tax laws.”

Lawyers’ three main jobs in the office of chief counsel are creating regulatory infrastructure, handling resolution of tax conflicts and providing legal advice to the commissioner and other IRS executives. Though Wilkins is the chief counsel, he works closely with each associate office and its members regardless of political affiliations.

“There are only two presidential appointees in the IRS: the chief counsel and the commissioner,” Wilkins said. “I think this speaks to the fact that the organization is really not political. There are a lot of buffers and circuit breakers in terms of any sort of political intervention in what we do.”

Wilkins also touched on a tougher, more controversial subject when he brought up the new tax regimes recently implemented by the IRS, including indoor tanning services, pharmaceutical companies and health insurance providers, which he addressed in the question-and-answer section of the lecture.

“When we write regulations, we want to be sure that we have done all the research to see if there are any prior Supreme Court cases that limit us,” he said. “We also do research, so when we say, ‘could we be accused of overturning a previous regulation?’ we know that we’re being careful.”

Regardless of the long days in the office and always being on-call, Wilkins said that benefits greatly outweigh the costs. He encouraged any students who are interested to jump at the opportunity to get involved in tax law.

“I have found tax law to be a great career choice,” he said. “It presents some of the most interesting and rewarding legal careers that are available. As you go through your career and you talk to people in the tax world, they very often say that those were some of the best years of their practice.”

Crescent Beach in St. Augustine is just one of the many coasts impacted by weather and erosion.

By Mickie Anderson
UF News Desk

Living along a Florida beach sounds like a dream, but it can bring nightmarish worries, including severe weather, erosion and regulations limiting how the land is used.

A new study by researchers with the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, or UF/IFAS, suggests that many buyers aren’t aware that living on the coast brings special challenges. In 2006, following two active hurricane seasons, state lawmakers strengthened real estate laws to ensure home and condominium buyers are told about the regulations and risks before their purchases are completed.

But the study findings suggest many who bought Florida coastal real estate in recent years either didn’t get the warning or didn’t absorb it amid the flurry of document-signing that accompanies closing a real estate deal.

“They’re either not being informed or they simply don’t remember – both of which are plausible,” said Tom Ankersen, director of the law school’s Conservation Clinic and Florida Sea Grant College’s legal specialist. Florida Sea Grant operates in partnership with UF/IFAS.

The UF Levin College of Law Conservation Clinic and Florida Sea Grant collaborated on the survey, sent to about 2,500 property owners in five coastal counties who bought property after the disclosure laws took effect. The study included follow-up interviews with some survey recipients and coastal real estate agents.

Their findings showed that nearly 86 percent of the 290 mail-survey respondents either did not receive the coastal hazards disclosure or did not recall receiving it. In fact, a majority of those who responded to the survey had no idea their property was partly or totally seaward of the coastal construction control line, also known as the CCCL.

Being seaward of the line can mean homeowners have to follow restrictions, such as keeping lights dimmed at certain times to avoid distracting sea turtles as they nest. Erosion is an ongoing issue for coastal property owners, who often want to build or repair seawalls or bring in material to restore the beach, only to learn that it may be prohibited.

In developing the study, Garin Davidson, senior geographic information system analyst with Florida Sea Grant’s Boating and Waterways Planning Program, sifted through property record databases in Brevard, Nassau, Sarasota, St. Johns and Walton counties to pinpoint homes that were sold after the law took effect and are covered by the CCCL. She said many homeowners were confused.

“Some property owners either remembered seeing (the notice), or it was like the radon notice and other disclosures, you may know it’s there and you may even remember signing it but you may not remember the purpose or meaning of the disclosure. There was a lot of uncertainty,” Davidson said.

The project was funded by the Florida Climate Institute at UF, because of the agency’s interest in sea-level rise. Kevin Wozniak, a UF law student whose work was supported with a climate institute grant, assisted with the survey’s creation as well as legal research and policy recommendations.

The Florida Sea Turtle Conservancy backed the original legislation, said Gary Appelson, the organization’s policy coordinator, and wanted to know if the 2006 law had been effective.

“The bottom line is, it doesn’t work, it doesn’t provide notice,” he said. “Or the notice is insufficient to convey any useful knowledge about living on the coast.”

Appelson said his organization will look into strengthening the current law.

The UF research team that conducted the survey included policy recommendations. Among them: The coastal hazards disclosure statement should be provided through a separate brochure or pamphlet so as not to blend in with other real estate documents, and it should be provided earlier in the transaction process. Also, buyers should no longer be permitted to waive their right to receive the notice, which the current law allows.

A copy of the report and summary can be found here.

The clinics offer an excellent opportunity to apply classroom theory in a practical setting while learning valuable lawyering skills. Students are supervised by a highly experienced clinical professor/practitioner. While in the clinics, students gain valuable experience collaborating with social workers, mental health and family counselors, environmental and land use professionals, or alternative dispute resolution experts.

Students in various clinics appear in court under Florida Supreme Court certification as a certified legal intern. Legal intern certification also positions students to gain employment and appear in court with agencies like the State Attorney, Public Defender, Legal Aid, or AmeriCorps, prior to taking the bar exam.

You can be a Certified Legal Intern by joining one of the following clinics - Civil Clinics: Full Representation Clinic, Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic (IPVAC) or Juvenile Law Clinic (Gator Teamchild). Criminal Clinics: Criminal Defense Clinic and Prosecution Clinic.

You can also gain valuable experience without becoming a certified legal intern by joining one of two clinics: Mediation Clinic and Conservation Clinic.

An all Clinic Informational Session will be held on Wednesday at noon in the Faculty Dining Room.  Snacks and refreshments will be served.  The clinics are located at 100 Bruton-Geer Hall. Stop by to speak to faculty about their clinics, or tour the clinics during the clinic’s open house, all day, Monday, Oct. 8, through Friday, Oct. 19.

Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture at UF Law Sept. 21 to nearly 600 guests.

By Matt Walker
Senior writer

United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made national news at UF Law last month when he dismissed U.S. News & World Report rankings and stated that a law degree from an Ivy League school shouldn’t carry more weight than any other law degree. While those remarks garnered the most attention in the press, they were just a small portion of Thomas’ overall message, which emphasized the importance of positivity and hard work.

This was Thomas’ second visit to UF Law to give the Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture in Law – having previously participated in the second annual Criser Lecture in 2010. Like his prior visit, this lecture was structured as a “conversation” with UF Law students. Lauren Humphries (1L), David R. Maass (3L), Eric Netcher (3L) and Zack Smith (3L) shared the stage with Thomas in the Marcia Whitney Schott Courtyard at UF Law on Friday, Sept. 21, passing a microphone amongst the group as they asked questions of the Supreme Court justice.

Smith, who is editor-in-chief of the Florida Law Review said he was interested in speaking with Thomas because “it seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit down with a sitting United States Supreme Court justice and ask him questions on any topic about which I was curious.”

Smith said he and the other students met Thomas briefly before the lecture and, along with about 20 other law students, had lunch with him afterward.

“Justice Thomas was very personable in these settings and was genuinely interested in talking to students and answering our questions,” he said. “I was impressed with his ability to recall everyone’s names and with the fact that he made a point to speak to everyone in the room.”

During the lecture, while Thomas touched on some legal topics, the justice’s stories generally proved to be a formidable mixture of lighthearted humor and solid advice for law students, including insights into how his experiences growing up in the segregated South helped shape his worldview as an adult and a look back at the difficulties Thomas had in law school.

“I found law school to be as clear as cement,” Thomas said in his opening remarks. “It was a very, very difficult experience.”

He said that the law does eventually reach a point of clarity, but for him it wasn’t until years after he had earned his J.D.

“It’s one of the reasons I’ve asked during my visits to spend more time with students,” Thomas said, “to reassure students in many ways that (the law) isn’t always unclear; that it may be difficult and complex but at some point the clouds open and you begin to see things a little better. Maybe it’s experience, maybe it’s maturity. Maybe it’s just life.”

Thomas – who graduated from Yale Law School – discussed how the most important mentors he’s had in his life weren’t the ones with the most formal education, but rather it was his family growing up, and the people he surrounds himself with every day.

“I don’t know if you saw the movie ‘The Help,’ but that’s basically where I grew up,” he said. “That’s my family, that’s my neighborhood, those are the people who were the wisest people, they were good people … those people are wise because they’ve managed to get through life in a good way.”

Those were the people who instilled in him a sense of hope and positivity, Thomas said, and it wasn’t until he was surrounded by the more privileged and elite in New England that he was exposed to a sense of cynicism and negativity.

But that cynicism latched onto him and he carried it with him for a long time. When asked about advice for graduating law students, Thomas again said to stay positive.

“I can’t tell you to use my experience because I was decidedly negative when I got out of law school and quite bitter and even quite cynical – that’s why I try to counsel young people not to go there, it took a long time to overcome that,” Thomas said.

Smith said one of the most salient points he took away from the conversation with Thomas was that, “America is still a land of opportunity.”

A memorable moment in the lecture came in response to a question about law school rankings and how attitudes toward the law school hierarchy can impact the legal profession.

Thomas said he has never paid attention to law school rankings and doesn’t think which law school someone graduated from should figure into hiring for a clerkship or job.

“There are smart kids everywhere,” he said, “they’re male, they’re female, they’re black, they’re white, they’re from the West, they’re from the South, they’re from public schools, they’re from public universities, they’re from poor families, they’re from sharecroppers, they’re from all over.”

He said that while he doesn’t rule out having Ivy Leaguers clerk for him, he intentionally seeks out those who aren’t from the nation’s most elite schools.

Automatically excluding someone from consideration for a position based on the school they went to is the antithesis of what the United States is about, Thomas said.

Thomas did breach more legal-oriented topics as well, emphasizing the importance of a practical approach to the law. Thomas also touched on his appreciation for his position as the circuit justice for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which includes Georgia, Florida and Alabama. He said although he lives in Washington, D.C., he considers the South his home and every time he thinks about being a part of the 11th Circuit he has to pinch himself.

“To know that within my lifetime – I went to segregated schools – to know that I’m part of the circuit that interprets the laws, that’s a big deal to me,” he said.

Thomas recommended that students take practical courses. He suggested that scholarly work would be cited by the high court more often if they were to focus on the practical application of the law:

“Justice Thomas emphasized that students should take practical courses and that professors should write articles on practical topics,” Smith said, “which can assist the practicing bar in arguing cases, and judges in deciding those cases.”

And he said that Supreme Court opinions should be accessible to the average person.

“Without condescension, we are obligated to make what we say about the Constitution and (the people’s) laws accessible to them,” Thomas said.

The Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture Series was created in early 2007 by Lewis Schott (B.A. 1943, LL.B. 1946) of Palm Beach, Fla., as a tribute to his fellow UF Law alumnus, former UF President Marshall Criser (JD 51). The goal of the speaker series is to host prestigious national and international speakers every year on topics of particular interest to law students. Past speakers have included Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (ret.), Justice Clarence Thomas and former ABA President Stephen Zack (JD 71).

Stories about the lecture have run in hundreds of media outlets nationwide. A webcast of the Criser Lecture is available here.