Professor Joyce Vance is quoted in the West Fargo Pioneer about whether federal prosecution should be sought in the kidnapping and death of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind in Fargo, North Dakota.
For more, read “McFeely: String ’em up? Not So fast, Former Federal Prosecutor Says.”
| Dear Alabama Law Alumni:
With a heavy heart, I write to let you know that Tom Jones passed away last night. Tom came to the School of Law in 1962. Since then, he served in virtually every position available to a member of the faculty – from professor (rising through the ranks), to Acting Dean, Associate Dean, Vice Dean, and Professor Emeritus. His impact on the School of Law – and on the students and colleagues he touched – cannot be overstated. I know this because, before I became his colleague, he was my teacher. Tom had a gravelly voice that conveyed a business-like seriousness. But beneath that exterior, he had a wry sense of humor and a sensitive soul, with a heart as tender as they come. He was also a person of enormous integrity. In the dedication ceremony for the Tom Jones Reception Area for the Alabama Law Institute, Othni Lathram described him as “a gentleman of the first order.” When another law school looked at hiring Tom as its Dean in 1978 (one of several schools that tried to lure him from Alabama Law), Dean Thomas Christopher wrote the following: “Professor Jones is a first-class person individually – a person of character, pleasing personality and real depth. He is a fine scholar and has a national reputation in the fields of probate law and tax. He is an efficient and pleasant administrator and is a good classroom teacher. I have no reservation recommending him – except that I don’t want him to leave Alabama.” Countless numbers of alumni and colleagues at Alabama Law are fortunate that he chose not to leave Alabama, but remained here as teacher, guide, mentor, and friend. Our fondest wishes go out to Tom’s wife Shelley and to the members of his extended family. I’ve been informed that a service to honor Tom’s life will be held on Thursday, August 31, at 11:00 a.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 900 Greensboro Avenue, Tuscaloosa. Visitation will follow in the Family Life Center at the church. Respectfully, Mark |
Some of the nation’s leading experts on water law visited Alabama Law today for the symposium on Water Resources Law.
Participants discussed the laws governing ownership of surface water, groundwater, and other water resources in Alabama and throughout the Southeast. They addressed interstate water law conflicts, the types of water policies that have worked in other states, and what may be preventing Alabama from establishing a more comprehensive water law policy.
The symposium also provided an update on the Alabama Water Agencies Working Group and information about legislative and administrative developments in Alabama and at the federal level.
Featured speakers were:
William L. Andreen, Edgar L. Clarkson Professor of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law
Bennett Bearden, Water Policy & Law Institute, The University of Alabama
Heather Elliott, Alumni, Class of ’36 Professor of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law
Blake Hudson, Professor of Law, The University of Houston Law Center
Christine Klein, Chesterfield Smith Professor and University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Chip Morgan, Executive Vice President, Delta Council (Mississippi)
Rebecca Wright Pritchett, Pritchett Environmental & Resources Law LLC
Mitchell Reid, Director of External Affairs, The Nature Conservancy in Alabama
Nick Tew, State Geologist, the Geological Survey of Alabama
Professor Al Brophy appears live on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and discusses the removal of Confederate statues.
For more, read “Al Brophy on the Removal of Confederate Statues.”
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, will participate in a conversation with Dean Mark E. Brandon and Judge William Harold Albritton III at The University of Alabama School of Law for the Fall 2017 Albritton Lecture Sept. 12.
“We are pleased and honored to be able to welcome Justice Sotomayor to the School of Law. Her professional record is stellar and her life’s story inspiring,” said Brandon, dean of the law school.
Justice Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2009. Before joining the Court, she served as a judge for the U.S. District
The Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
Court for the Southern District of New York and as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The Albritton Lecture Series was established by Judge Albritton and is supported by The Albritton Fund, created in the 1970s by the Albritton family of Andalusia, which has four generations of Alabama Law graduates.
The lecture series counts 11 United States Supreme Court Justices and three foreign Chief Justices among its past participants. Judge Albritton is a 1960 graduate of Alabama Law and U.S. District Court Judge for the Middle District of Alabama, having been appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush. The first Albritton lecture was delivered by United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in 1996.
“This unique lecture series has been limited to Supreme Court Justices and Chief Justices, as well as Chief Justices of foreign nations, to give our students and faculty direct exposure to discussions of the judicial process by those involved at the highest levels,” Judge Albritton said.
The event is open to the public and will take place in the McMillian Lecture Hall, room 287/288 at 2 p.m.. No registration is required. Seating is limited and early arrival is recommended.
Note that purses, bags, laptops, umbrellas and large jackets will not be allowed in the lecture hall.
Professor Al Brophy is quoted in FiveThirtyEight, Vox, and CNN about the removal of Confederate statues.
For more, read: “There Are Still More Than 700 Confederate Monuments in the U.S.”
Professor Joyce Vance, a former U.S. Attorney, talks with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow about what can be inferred from the details and the timing of the FBI raid on the home of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
For more, watch “Details of FBI Raid on Manafort Home Raise New Questions.”
Justice Janie Shores, celebrated alumna of the Law School, has passed away at the age of 85.
She grew up in Baldwin County, took her bachelor’s degree from Samford University, and earned her law degree from Alabama Law in 1959.
Her notes and outlines at the School of Law were legendary; for years after she graduated, countless students insisted that they succeeded in law school only because they relied on Janie Shores’s notes.
After teaching law at Cumberland, she ran successfully for a seat on the Alabama Supreme Court, the first woman to serve as Justice on that court. She served on the court for 25 years.
In 2015, she was the recipient of the Sam W. Pipes Award, which is given to an outstanding alum of the Law School for distinguished service to the Bar, the University of Alabama, and the School of Law. Justice Shores was personally courageous, politically engaged, and irrepressibly honest.
A memorial service will be held in Birmingham at a date that has yet to be decided.
For more, read “Alabama State Bar President Issues Statement on Death of Justice Janie L. Shores.”
The University of Alabama School of Law announces the hiring of six new faculty members: Professors Yonathan Arbel, Alfred Brophy, Courtney Cross, Allyson Gold, Shalini Ray, and Philip Reich.
Professor Arbel is an expert on the enforcement of contracts and commercial obligations. His work covers not only contracts, but also commercial law, torts, and consumer law. Professor Arbel received his S.J.D. degree in law and economics from Harvard Law School, J.S.M. in law and society from Stanford Law School, and LL.B. in law and humanities, summa cum laude, from the Hebrew University.
Professor Brophy is the D. Paul Jones, Jr. & Charlene Jones Chairholder of Law. He teaches in the fields of property, trusts and estates, remedies, and legal history. He received his A.B., summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, J.D. from Columbia University, and Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Professor Cross is the Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic. Her research explores the intersections of domestic violence, criminal law, and poverty. Professor Cross received an LL.M. with honors from Georgetown University Law Center, a J.D. from NYU School of Law, and a B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego.
Professor Gold is the Director of the Elder Law Clinic. Her research examines the effect of property law on the achievement of health equity and social justice. Professor Gold earned her J.D., with Honors, from Emory University School of Law and a B.A., with High Distinction, from the University of Virginia.
Professor Ray will teach Legal Profession, Legislation/Regulation, and an immigration law seminar during the 2017-18 year. She conducts research in the areas of immigration, administrative, and international law. Professor Ray earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Stanford University.
Judge Reich teaches a course entitled ” The Business of Being a Lawyer” at the University of Alabama School of Law and a legal studies course in the University of Alabama Honors College. He is a retired Circuit Judge for the State of Alabama, former Deputy General Counsel for the University of Alabama System, and serves as a mediator. Professor Reich received his B.S. and J.D. from the University of Alabama.
Purple Heart recipients will soon have premium parking privileges at The University of Alabama.
On Aug. 9 at 11 a.m., UA will unveil a parking space in the Ferguson Center lot designated for veterans who have received the Purple Heart, an award given to men or women who have either been wounded or killed in combat.
Alabama Law student Steven Arango is a second lieutenant in the Marines and is on reserve status while he attends school. The Clearwater, Florida, native was commissioned in August 2016 and is a president of the UA Military Law Society, which proposed to Chris D’Esposito, director, UA Transportation Services, the idea of honoring Purple Heart veterans. Arango’s step-brother, Flynn Bluett, helped create the design for this parking space.
“My grandfather, who was a sniper in the Marine Corps, was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in the Marshall Islands during World War II,” Arango said. “This is something that’s been on my heart. I’ve seen similar parking spaces at Home Depot, and anytime we can do something on campus to honor our veterans, I’m all for it.”
The asphalt of the parking space will be marked with the Purple Heart logo, and a post that includes the logo will mark the front of the space.
The ceremony will be held in the lot along Campus Drive, west of the Ferguson Center. Members of UA’s veteran’s community will speak during the ceremony, including retired Air Force Col. and Purple Heart recipient Duane Lamb, assistant vice president for facilities and grounds and commander of the Purple Heart chapter in Tuscaloosa.
“The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs is honored to be a part of this project,” said David Blair, director of that UA office.
“Honoring veterans in this way shows the commitment and dedication UA has for taking care of these students,” Blair said. “This is just one more reason UA continues to be recognized as a Top Military and Veteran friendly university. Currently we serve just over 4,000 veterans, service members, and dependents. The financial impact these students have at UA and in the local community annually is well over $40 million.”
UA has two registered Purple Heart recipients in its student body and is a Purple Heart University, a designation given to universities that recognize veterans wounded in combat. UA’s Purple Heart recipients will register with Veteran and Military Affairs and receive a Purple Heart hang-tag that will allow them to use the designated space and also park in any spot or zone on campus, except for handicapped spaces.
