Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens speaks with UF Law professors Kenneth Nunn, John Stinneford and Danaya Wright during the Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture Series held in the Marcia Whitney Schott Courtyard on Tuesday. (Photo by Elise Giordano)

At 92, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has a lifetime of experience and legal wisdom to impart, which he readily did Tuesday at UF Law. Stevens was welcomed for the second time in five years as the Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecturer. Stevens spoke at the inaugural Criser Lecture at UF Law in 2008.

The conversation was facilitated by UF Law Professors Kenneth Nunn, John Stinneford and Danaya Wright. Stevens addressed a wide variety of topics, including proportionality in sentencing, interpreting history, changing technology, and experiences and court opinions from his years as a justice.

“Justice Stevens not only appears to have encyclopedic memory of his decisions during his term on the court, but he remembers his reasons for reaching the conclusions he did and also the countervailing arguments that might have led him to decide differently,” Stinneford said. “As someone who can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, I found this very impressive.”

One of the cases Stevens addressed in particular was Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. – a case Stevens said he believed to be a routine case in 1984 when he wrote the majority opinion. In the years since, it has become one of the most cited cases in administrative law.

“You don’t – at the time you’re working on a case – always appreciate what its long-run impact will be,” Stevens said.

Stinneford said “this is a nice reminder that we should take even the mundane events of our lives seriously, as they may turn out to have a bigger impact on our lives than we realize at the time.”

Stevens also addressed his legacy as a Supreme Court justice when Nunn suggested that his opinions throughout the years seemed to grow more liberal.

“To tell you the truth, I think I’m a good deal more conservative than people often assume because I feel very strongly that judges should not be deciding certain issues,” he said. “I’m sure I must have changed to a certain extent but I don’t think I’ve changed a tenth as much as the court in general has changed.”

He said each Supreme Court appointment beginning with his own was more conservative than his or her predecessor.

Wright said of spending time with Stevens before and after the lecture that he was delightful, modest and interesting.

“He told stories of his days before the court and he remembered almost all the cases we talked about quite well,” she said. “I did manage to dredge up a case he had only signed onto the majority opinion on, and he didn’t remember it very well.”

Stevens also imparted some advice for current law students, including the benefits of attaining a clerkship.

“I think it’s really excellent experience, and that’s at all levels, not necessarily appellate court but trial courts too,” he said. “You learn a great deal about how litigation actually works by being in the inside of the process for a year or so.”

In closing, Stevens emphasized the importance of studying hard, and ultimately having a good reputation as a practicing lawyer.

“It’s very simple and you’ve heard it over and over again: One, study hard and take your work seriously,” he said, “and remember that the most important asset that you’re going to have when you get out in practice is to have everybody in the profession know that your word is good, because that is a critical part of the profession – the integrity of the lawyer – and that’s something you must always keep in mind.”

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 Justice Clarence Thomas and former ABA President Stephen N. Zack (JD 71).

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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.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited UF in 2010, and will be on campus again Sept. 21.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will return to UF Law to deliver this year’s Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture in Law on Friday, Sept. 21, at 10 a.m. in the Marcia Whitney Schott Courtyard.

Like Thomas’ previous visit in 2010, the lecture will be more of a conversation, as he is interviewed by several UF Law students. Further details will be announced as they become available. The event is open to faculty, students and staff but not to the public.

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).

Justice Clarence Thomas delivers Criser Lecture

As blistering winter weather threatened to snow-in the nation’s capital on Feb. 4, it was sunny but cool in Florida. Despite the sunshine, 700 law students, faculty and others seated the University of Florida Levin College of Law Marcia Whitney Schott courtyard or standing on the second-floor balcony shivered from time to time as they waited for United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to make his appearance as the college’s special guest during the second annual Marshall M. Criser Distinguished Lecture.

After an introduction from UF Law Dean Robert Jerry, Thomas took the stage, saying, “I don’t know how you can tolerate this consistently good weather.” The resulting laughter from the crowd was a sound that was heard often, as Thomas delighted his audience with his sense of humor.

Thomas, the fifth Supreme Court justice to visit the Levin College of Law in the past five years, came to UF Law with the express intention of interacting with law students, which he thoroughly accomplished during several lunches, dinners, classroom visits and other meetings prior to and after the lecture.

“My wife told me some years ago that it’s better to do conversations instead of lectures,” Thomas said, “because you get to talk about things people are really interested in, as opposed to what you’re interested in.”

During the lecture, billed as a “conversation,” four UF Law students — Joshua Mize (3L), Leah Edelman (2L), Jon Philipson (2L), and Dwayne Robinson (2L) — asked Thomas a series of pre-selected questions on topics ranging from personal to professional.

After being asked his perspectives of how attitudes toward race have changed, Thomas spoke poignantly about his youth and the frustrations he faced as a young black man in the segregated, Jim Crow South. He recounted his excitement as a high school senior upon receiving notice of outstanding SAT scores qualifying him to attend the University of Georgia or the University of North Carolina — only to be devastated and angered by the realization that he couldn’t attend those institutions due to the color of his skin. “I’m not going to gild a lily and tell that you everything was peaches and cream,” he said, “because it was not. I was really, really upset for a long time.”

But eventually, Thomas said he realized that he was on a self-destructive path, and that he could seek positive reform through the law.

“In the law, I saw a possibility for fairness,” he said, “a possibility for change, a possibility to do something to help others.”

Having been so cynical earlier in life, Thomas showed that he has little tolerance for it now, especially when that cynicism is directed toward the court.

Noting the attacks on Supreme Court decisions, Thomas said, “I think we do run the risk, in our society, of undermining institutions that we will need to preserve our liberties.”

Thomas noted that the criticism comes almost exclusively from those who have not been in his shoes.

“I keep hearing people make up reasons why we do our business,” he said, “and, it’s fascinating, it’s not from judges, it’s not from former members of the court, it’s from people who don’t do the job. It’s not easy for anyone — except the people who have no responsibility to do it, for the people who have never had to vote whether somebody dies.”

While Thomas’ reputation as a friendly and down-to-earth individual was known to the students who shared the stage with him, he exceeded their expectations.

“Speaking to friends at schools Justice Thomas previously visited, I was told that Justice Thomas was personable and very engaging,” Philipson said. “However, the words did not do justice to the experience. It felt as if the five of us were sitting around at someone’s house — simply sharing ideas and jokes.”

Philipson, the editor in chief of Florida Law Review, said that the event was as educational as it was entertaining.

“By inviting judges and justices to the campus, the law school provides us the opportunity to understand judicial opinions and the people who write them and to understand how they arrive at their opinions,” he said. “Similar to previous visits by justices and judges, when I read Justice Thomas’ opinions in the future, I now have a better understanding of how he approaches the law.”

Edelman, a member of the Florida Moot Court Team, was equally impressed. “I think his accessibility surprised me in the best way,” she said. “You don’t expect a Supreme Court justice to answer that many questions or shake hands and take pictures with everyone in the room.”

Mize, the president of the Federalist Society at UF Law and an editor of the Florida Law Review, described him similarly.

“Justice Thomas was engaging and thoughtful throughout the conversation,” Mize said. “It was an once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Robinson, a junior research editor of Florida Law Review, said that Thomas’ visit provided insight into not only Thomas himself, but others in the public light. “Justice Thomas’ visit was more than I could have ever expected,” he said. “Personally, it had a profound effect on how I view people in public life.”

Robinson added that he has not heard a single negative comment from a student about Justice Thomas’ visit. “He had a great impression on the school,” he said, “and hopefully we made a great impression on him.

These comments reflected the feelings of the audience, who enjoyed the Thomas’ humility, insight, and especially his sense of humor. “Justice Thomas has one of the best laughs I have ever heard,” Edelman said, “and I’m glad that we got to hear it so often.”

The lecture was one of just many events that Thomas attended during his visit to the law school. Wide eyes and whispers of “Oh my gosh” greeted Thomas as he surprised first-year students on Wednesday by unexpectedly showing up in their classes. While a visit to only one of the three first-year sections was planned at first, Thomas insisted on visiting all three.

After the lecture on Thursday, he met with a group of student leaders, answering questions ranging from his legal writing pet peeves to the wisdom of looking to other countries laws for guidance.

Thomas also joined students and the local legal community (see sidebar story on the Federal Bar Association dinner) for meals and meetings, where mingled and conversed in smaller groups.

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.

For more information on Justice Thomas’ visit, including a photo gallery and video of his Feb. 4 lecture to University of Florida Levin College of Law students, visit www.law.ufl.edu/news/events/2010/JusticeThomas/.

The lecture will also be Webcast live via a link on the UF Law home page, and an archived version will be available online following the event.

Tickets for the lecture are being distributed on a first-come, first-served basis by the Office of Student Affairs until all 700 have been picked up. In order to be eligible for a ticket, students need to present to the Office of Student Affairs a valid law school UF ID. Only one ticket will be available per student and students are not allowed to pick up tickets for other students. Please pick a ticket up only if you plan on attending the event.

Details about the lecture and other events related to Justice Thomas’ visit were sent to the law school community in an e-mail last week. Students with questions should contact the Office of Student Affairs at 352-273-0620. Any other questions, including media inquiries, should be directed to the Communications Office at 352-273-0650.

For the most up-to-date information on ticketing, policies and procedures check your e-mail and the UF Law homepage.