Congratulations to third-year students Jonathan Kaufman, John Lex Kenerly IV and Joseph H. "Joe" Stuhrenberg for winning the 70th Annual National Moot Court Competition in New York City. The team prevailed in the regional rounds and then headed to New York, where they squared off against 31 other teams from around the country. Over the course of six rounds in four days, the team ultimately won in the finals before a panel of five distinguished judges.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and the University of Georgia is celebrating with a semesterlong series of events across campus designed to educate and inspire action for a more sustainable future. Counted among the events is the Feb. 21 Red Clay Conference, hosted by the Environmental Law Association, which will feature the Peter Appel Lecture by Love Canal activist Lois Gibbs, who led the fight for her community to be relocated after discovering that the neighborhood had been built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste.
First-year law student Haley K. Kairab is the winner of the School of Law's 2020 J. Ralph Beaird 1L Closing Argument Mock Trial Tournament. Congratulations to all who competed, including finalist Donavan C. Juleus, on their performances.
For Justice Robert Benham, being a judge isn't about punishing people. It's about salvaging people. "We need to give people a chance the do the right thing at the right time for the right reason," he said. Benham, the longest serving and first African American member of the Supreme Court of Georgia, talked about his journey in the justice system at the 2020 Holmes-Hunter Lecture, held Feb. 3. Named in honor of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, the first African American students to attend the University of Georgia, the lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President and focuses on race relations, civil rights and education.
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic recently helped two clients with their preliminary approval for U Visas, which provide a path to lawful status for noncitizens who are the victims of serious crime and are helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution. According to Jason A. Cade, the clinic's director and holder of a Hosch Associate Professorship, when the statutory backlog is cleared the clients will have full U status. Current Community HeLP Clinic students James C. Berrigan and Lisa C. Garcia marshaled the evidence needed to achieve this successful outcome for both clients.