Photo by Simon Hurst Photography
A Place ... In Medias Res
D
EAR FRIENDS, As I write, everyone here at Oklahoma City University School of Law is deep into the details of moving the law school to downtown Oklahoma City. The historic place that will be our home has ignited our imaginations and our ambitions. And support from close to home and across the country has served as a catalyst for creating a place like no other. This creative venture is happening just in time to capture the essence of the school as it has been progressing for many years — a law school steeped in rigorous and pragmatic traditions and in strong partnership with the community. A capitol city law school. A practitioner’s law school. An interdisciplinary law school. And a place literally in the middle of the action. In Medias Res! Little did I know, when I chose in medias res as the theme for my investiture as dean two years ago, how literally we would be applying that idea today. With the help and support of the University and many community partners, alumni and friends, we are taking steps to ensure the future well-being of one of the most central endeavors of the community — educating our future lawyers, leaders and problem solvers. Nowhere is this theme more apparent than in the work and success of our graduates. Our Law School is rated in the top quartile of all American law schools in regard to our placement of graduates in law jobs. We also prepare many students to enter the oil and gas industry, the health care business, banking, government leadership, non-profit organizations and
the world of risk management in numerous fields. We are launching a center for the study of National Security Law with an emphasis on homeland security. And we continue to reach across oceans to build relationships with lawyers from other countries, forging friendships beneficial not only to our students but to the entire legal and business community. Our Innocence Clinic has passed from its infancy into its maturity with the filing of several cases. And our American Indian Wills Clinic and American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center are contributing to the capacity of tribal communities to address policy and legal issues of paramount importance to Indian Country and our entire state. And, of course, our superb law library and librarians continue to provide the go-to legal resources for the entire community. Through every aspect of our school, we are creating a place of great capacity to take action and do good. No more will we be on the cusp. We will be in the middle. I invite you to join us at this place in time through your involvement and investment in our school. The future is in our midst, and our community is growing forward. Be with us. With gratitude and appreciation for your friendship,
Valerie K. Couch
DEAN
Valerie K. Couch
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Brook Arbeitman Director of Marketing & Communications
COPY EDITOR
Michael Gibson Professor of Law
CONTRIBUTORS
Brook Arbeitman Director of Marketing & Communications Von Creel Professor Emeritus Ericka Burey-Fisher Class of 2015 Michael Gibson Professor of Law Alvin Harrell ’72 Professor of Law Lawrence K. Hellman Dean Emeritus Robert H. Henry Oklahoma City University President Lindsey Lubrano Class of 2015 Michael O’Shea Professor of Law Jennifer Prilliman Law Library Associate Director Pete G. Serrata III ’06 Assistant Dean for Law Career Services Joshua M. Snavely ’10 Assistant Dean for External Relations
CREATIVE DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN
Amy Fuller Flint Inc.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Simon Hurst Photography Lisa Lee Photography Ann Sherman Photography
CONTACT INFORMATION
Admissions 405.208.5354 lawquestions@okcu.edu
Advancement 405.208.7100 lawadvancement@okcu.edu
Law Career Services 405.208.5332 hireoculaw@okcu.edu
Law Library 405.208.5271
Marketing and Communications 405.208.6300 lawnews@okcu.edu
Oklahoma City University School of Law 2501 N. Blackwelder Oklahoma City, OK 73106 405.208.5337 law.okcu.edu
Editorial contributions and submissions, including Letters to the Editor, are welcome. All submissions are subject to editing and are used at the Editor in Chief’s discretion. LAW Magazine is a copyrighted publication of Oklahoma City University School of Law.
IN EVERY ISSUE
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Legal Action ––––––––––
19
Legal Briefs ––––––––––
59
Class Action ––––––––––
66
Amicus Universitas ––––––––––
77
In Memoriam ––––––––––
81
In Conclusion
48 Is Carrying a Handgun “Bearing Arms”? How Nineteenth-Century Courts and Twenty-First Century Laws Inform a Major Second Amendment Question
65
54
Forensic Science in the Courtroom
56
Alumni Profile Alma Faye Posey Washington ’84
Freedom Fighters
Pursuing freedom for the wrongfully convicted
26
As Time Goes By The story of the School of Law’s historic new home
Letters to the Editor “Thank you very much for sending a copy of the recent issue of Oklahoma City University LAW. As always, I was impressed with the content of the magazine and the many accomplishments of your faculty, students, and alumni.” Martin J. Katz
“I just received my copy of LAW and wanted to drop a quick note to tell you how impressed I am with the publication.” Mark A. Yancey FIRST ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY
Western District of Oklahoma “This magazine says a lot and is in sync with what’s really happening at OCU Law. I couldn’t be more impressed.”
DEAN & PROFESSOR OF LAW
Karli Sue McMurray ’11
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
One Love Worldwide
PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
“I am a Law alumna with a question for which I haven’t been able to find an answer. Where will law student parking be when the school moves to the new location at Central High School?” Jacqueline Scott Bateman ’96 Thanks for the question Jacqueline. The Central High School building has more than 300 dedicated parking spots around the facility (more than we currently have on campus). And with many of our students choosing to live downtown/midtown, biking and walking will be great options once we move.
“[Rick] Rescorla represented everything that this country should be about, and when his time came, he answered the call. Every generation has had some event that has tested it — 9/11 for mine, Vietnam for the one prior, Pearl Harbor for the one before that — and while it is impossible to know at this point what my students’ test would be, I am sure they will pass it. Thanks [Professor Michael Gibson] for writing the article on Rick Rescorla. I would otherwise not have known that he was an OCU alum.” Scott Markowitz ’05 Villages High School, Gainesville, FL
If you have a question or would like to submit a Letter to the Editor, email lawnews@okcu.edu or write to: LAW Magazine, Oklahoma City University School of Law, 2501 N. Blackwelder, Oklahoma City, OK 73106
BY P E T E G . S E R R ATA I I I Assistant Dean for Law Career Services
Practice Ready Battle Hardened
“
K
NOWLEDGE OF THE LAW is a necessary but insufficient component of the practice of law.” Professor
Emeritus Von Creel started my legal career with that thought and, like many of his lessons, it continues to guide me today. The lesson I took from Professor Creel’s observation was that the law is merely a tool to peaceably unravel the problems that arise at the intersection of people’s lives, dreams and desires. Now that I am an administrator, Professor Creel’s admonition is not just a philosophy, but a strategy for success. The fact that the law school’s class of 2013 enjoyed an employment rate of 93.4% (the highest in the state and nearly 10% higher than the 2012 national average), is prima facie evidence that Von Creel was on to something. For generations, the law school faculty has done a superb job of creating and honing brilliant legal minds. However, in today’s competitive job market, success comes in making critical legal thinkers who are “practice ready.” “Practice ready” is the focus on practical skills training and experiential learning that starts during a student’s first year of law school and carries through their entire law school experience. It is an expanded universe of hands-on opportunities for law students, and it is a promise to future employers that Oklahoma City University students will have the skills and experience to get the job done from day one. Most importantly, “practice ready” is the recognition that some of the most important lessons a future lawyer must learn cannot be confined to the classroom.
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SKILLS INTEGRATION “Practice ready” starts with “skills integra-
PRO BONO TODAY – EMPLOYED TOMORROW
ST U DENT PROFILE
tion” in a student’s first-year civil procedure
The American Bar Association views pro
class. Each Civil Procedure professor is
bono work as an obligation of service
Karen Kennedye
paired with adjunct-practitioners to provide
that a lawyer owes to society. The law
Bridging the Social Gap
students with a series of practical assign-
as valuable opportunities for students to
ments that require the students to apply
apply classroom theory to the clients and
theory to simulated facts and scenarios.
issues most in need. There are two pro
Through this process, theory becomes less abstract and is learned in a practice context that provides an ideal foundation for students to transition from the classroom environment to real-world cases and clients. LICENSED LEGAL INTERNS During their fourth semester, students
school, by contrast, views pro bono work
“Knowledge of the law is a necessary but insufficient component of the practice of law.”
become eligible for the Licensed Legal Intern (LLI) Program through the Oklahoma
bono programs, in particular, that make a
Bar Association. LLI students are sworn
difference in a very real way. The law school
in before the Oklahoma Supreme Court
is a founding sponsor of the Pro Se Waiver
as limited members of the bar who are
Divorce Project, and starting in the summer
able to practice before state courts under a
of 2014, the Pro Se Bankruptcy Project.
supervising attorney in limited classes of cases. LLI students are able to argue motions, depose clients and even try cases on their own, before ever leaving law school. EXTERNSHIPS
learn crucial client counseling skills and get valuable in-court experience under the
for students, the externship program has
guidance of seasoned attorney volunteers.
nizations and in Judge Advocate General offices throughout Oklahoma and beyond. Over the course of a semester, students spend a minimum of 91 hours on the job while attending a classroom component that complements their work experiences.
Justice Studies focus on Criminology Clara Luper Scholar
attorneys work with pro se petitioners who
create on-the-job learning opportunities
corporate general counsel, pro bono orga-
MAJOR:
Through the project, students and volunteer
incomplete or incorrect filings. Students
and federal judges, government agencies,
Oklahoma City University
and the Oklahoma County District Court.
working with government and industry to
through externship placements with state
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
school, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma
have had their divorces denied based on
of Law, students earn academic credit
Oklahoma City, OK
collaborative venture between the law
School of Law was an early innovator in
for legal jobs has intensified. At the School
HOMETOWN:
The Pro Se Waiver Divorce Project is a
Although Oklahoma City University
taken on a new rigor as the competition
3L 2014-2015
In June, the law school’s Pro Se Bankruptcy Project began taking referrals from partner agencies to assist pro se debtors file for bankruptcy protection in the Western District of Oklahoma. Students work with volunteer attorneys to ensure that these clients have access to competent legal assistance. Moreover, students enrolled in the Consumer Bankruptcy class in the fall of 2014 will be required to work in the project applying theory and skills learned in class, to actual cases being filed.
Starting with the 2014 entering class, every
LEARNING TO PRACTICE
student must complete an externship
For those with fond memories of your
as a requirement for graduation.
first trial in Trial Practice class, fear not,
“As a Hispanic woman, I have been able to closely see and hear the negative stereotypes that minority people associate with police officers, judges and attorneys. In order to dispel those stereotypes, people should see someone that they can closely relate to in these roles. Enforcing the law should never be about race.”
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the law school’s practical skills courses and clinics
disputes, are governed by the same rules and procedures
are alive and well. Although our Trial Practice course
as any civil case being tried in Oklahoma County.
remains popular, the Pretrial Litigation and Forensic Science courses are gaining in popularity as students
THE WAR RAGES ON
seek to learn the skills they will be using in practice.
It is hard not to be thrilled with an employment rate
In the section of Pretrial Litigation that I teach, students
of 93.4% during today’s difficult economy. (And I am
form legal teams to represent the parties from an actual
thrilled.) But, we must resist the temptation to rest on
legal dispute. Using publicly filed documents from the
our laurels. We must continue to innovate and produce
case, students conduct discovery, issue subpoenas, draft
the kind of talented, service-minded, “practice ready”
Daubert motions, mediate the case, negotiate with
lawyers for which Oklahoma City University School of
opposing counsel and even draft and argue motions for
Law is known. This is a continuing obligation to our
summary judgment. Nearly all aspects of the simulation,
students, employers and the countless clients whose
including requests for extension of time and discovery
lives will be entrusted to the fruits of these efforts.
MA K E-A-WILL & FINANC IAL P LAN N IN G WORKSHOP Oklahoma City University School of Law students participated in the community-based Make-A-Will & Financial Planning Workshop in April 2014. This is the 5th year for the workshop, which pairs law students with practicing attorneys to draft simple probate documents such as a will, power of attorney or memorandum of trust for participating community members. Since its inception, more than 300 Oklahoma City families have received services through this valuable program.
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Pete G. Serrata joined Oklahoma City University School of Law in August 2012 as Assistant Dean for Law Career Services. Prior to joining the administration, Pete practiced law at the Oklahoma City firm of Derryberry and Naifeh. Pete served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 19972005 and is a 2006 graduate of Oklahoma City University School of Law.
Phyllis Bernard A.B. BRYN MAWR COLLEGE J.D. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA M.A. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Contribution
• [to the book] Muntu Meets Mencius: Can Ancient Principles Guide Modern Negotiations on the Export of Africa’s Natural Resources to China?, Rethinking Negotiation Teaching: Educating Negotiators for a Connected World (Christopher Honeyman, James Coben, Andrew Wei-Min Lee eds., 2013 )
Distinction
• National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Fellow Presentation
• Who was on trial? Martin or Zimmerman?: The Historical Context of Racial Imagery in the Courtroom, After Trayvon Panel, University of Oklahoma (August 2013 )
Marc Blitz B.A. HARVARD UNIVERSITY J.D. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Charles Cantrell J.D. BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LL.M. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
PH.D. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Presentations • School, Work, Speech, and CyberKant, 2013 Internet Law Works in Progress, Santa Clara Law (March 2013 )
• The Law and Political Theory of “Privacy Substitutes,” 2013 Privacy Law Scholars Conference, Berkley Center for Law and Technology (June 2013)
• Twenty-First Century Persuasion and Commercial Speech Doctrine, Nexus Symposium, Fowler Law School at Chapman University (October 2013 )
• Third Party Records and the Model of Heightened Scrutiny, University of Oklahoma Law Review Symposium (November 2013 )
• The First Amendment and Psychotherapy, Lightning Talk Presentation, Brain Matters Conference, Vancouver (March 2014 )
• Freedom of Speech, The Right of Privacy, and Psychotherapy, Thomson Reuters Speaker Series, Yale Law School (April 2014 )
• Privacy, the First Amendment and Commercial and Government Data Collection, Privacy Symposium, George Mason University Law & Economics Center (May 2014 ) Publications
• The Fourth Amendment Future of Public Surveillance: Remote Recording and Other Searches in Public Space, 63 American University Law Review 21-86 ( 2013 )
• The Right to Map (and Avoid Being Mapped): Reconceiving First Amendment Protection for Information Gathering in the Age of Geotagging and Google Earth, 14 Columbia Science and Technology Law Review 115-202 ( 2013 ) 8
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Publications
• Oklahoma Criminal Law: Statutes & Rules Annotated 2013-14 (18th ed.)(Imprimatur Press)
• Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions: Criminal 2d Annotated (14th ed.)(Imprimatur Press)
Paula Dalley A.B. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY J.D. HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Lawrence K. Hellman B.S. WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY J.D. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
LL.M. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Publication
• Bill Conger, The Blind Printer, 38 Oklahoma City University Law Review 41-43 ( 2013 )
Alvin Harrell Distinctions
J.D. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
• Monthly ethics column in the Oklahoma County Bar Association Briefcase ended in January 2014 after 28 years
LL.M. SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
• Resident Director of the 2013 Autumn-in-London program
M.B.A. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
Presentations
B.S. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
Presentations • Updates in Secured Transactions and Oklahoma Foreclosure Cases, 2013 Banking and Commercial Law Update, Oklahoma Bar Association (November 2013 ) • Consumer Credit, Teaching Consumer Law in a Virtual World, Center for Consumer Law, Santa Fe, NM (May 2014 ) Publications • Introduction to the 2013 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law (with Terese G. Franzen, Nicole Frush Munro, and John L. Ropiequet), 68 Business Lawyer 553 ( 2013 ) • Oklahoma Supreme Court Addresses the Role and Importance of Good Faith in Commercial Transactions, Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 23 ) • Remittance Transfers Under Dodd-Frank: The Final Rules and their Far-Reaching Implications, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report ( 2013 ) • Update on Mortgage Foreclosure Litigation: MERS, Standing to Sue and “Show Me the Note” as Defenses, Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report ( 2013 ) • West’s Legal Forms, Vols. 13, 13A & 15 ( 2013 )(Vol. 15 with Fred H. Miller)
• Vernon’s Oklahoma Forms 2d, Vols. 4A, 4B & 4C, Chapters 1, 3, 4, 4A, 7, 8 & 9 ( 2013 )
• Historical Review and Analysis of Legal Ethics in Instruction at American Law Schools, Faculty Workshop, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, China (March 2013)
• Five Styles of Teaching Legal Ethics, Conference on Chinese Legal Ethics: Answer the Call for Reform, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, China (March 2013 ) • The Limits of the Law Schools’ Ability to Inculcate Adherence to Principles of Legal Ethics on the Part of their Graduates, Conference on Chinese Legal Ethics: Answer the Call for Reform, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, China (March 2013 ) • The American Criminal Justice System: The Roles of Prosecutors, Defense Lawyers and Judges in Preventing and Remedying Wrongful Convictions, Renmin University School of Law, Beijing, China (March 2013 ) • [organizer and moderator] Second International Symposium on Sino-American Comparative Law, Oklahoma City University (May 2013 ) • The Role and Regulation of Lawyers in the United States to the Shenzhen Bar Association (Shenzhen, Guangdon Province, China), in addition to multiple Chinese law schools (December 2013 ) • The Selection, Training, and Regulation of Judges in the United States, National Judges College, Beijing, China (December 2013) Publication • How Law Schools Can Contribute to Public Policy on Human Rights, 2013 International Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, Mysore, India (March 2013 )
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Danné Johnson
Distinction
• Taught Securities Litigation during the Autumn-in-London program ( 2013 )
B.A. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA J.D. GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Presentations
• Presented Lifetime Achievement Award to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on behalf of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Women in Legal Education
• Presumed Incompetent: The Intersection of Race and Class for Women in Academia Symposium, University of California-Berkeley (March 2013 )
• Women in Law: Panel One: Lessons from our Past and the Judiciary, Federal Bar Association Annual Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico (September 2013 )
Laurie Jones B.A. OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY J.D. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Publication
• Making a Public Service Career Affordable, Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 11 )
Arthur LeFrancois B.A. BELOIT COLLEGE J.D. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Distinction • Oklahoma City University Law Review Outstanding Faculty Assistance Award ( 2013 ) Publication
Edward Lyons B.A. UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO J.D. UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME M.A. UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS PH.D. UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS
• Thinking of Bill, 38 Oklahoma City University Law Review 33-37 ( 2013 )
Presentation
• Chair, Natural Law Session, Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas Conference, University of St. Thomas (October 2013 ) 10
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Dan Morgan
Tiffany Murphy
B.A. UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
B.A. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
J.D. UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
J.D. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Distinctions
• Oklahoma Bar Association Young Lawyer Division Beacon Award ( 2013 )
• William J. Holloway Jr., American Inn of Court, Recognition of Service and Retirement Award ( 2013 ) Publications
• Bill Conger: Mentor, 38 Oklahoma City University Law Review 39-40 ( 2013 )
• Chapter 8, Right of Rescission Under Truth in Lending, Truth in Lending Section of Business Law, American Bar Association ( 2014 )
Brief • Karl Fontenot v. State of Oklahoma, District Court of Pontotoc County, State of Oklahoma, No. CR-88-43. Brief in Support of Application for Post-Conviction Relief (2013) Presentation • Oklahoma Department of Corrections (October 2013 ) Publication • Futility of Exhaustion: Why Brady Claims Should Trump Federal Exhaustion Requirements, 47 University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform 697-732 ( 2014 )
Daniel Morgan, Norman and Edem Professor of Trial Advocacy, retired in June after 33 years of wearing Don Quixote costumes, urging Trial Practice students to “come loaded for bear,” acting “as crazy as a peach orchard boar” (think hungry hog and fermented fruit) and “mitt-flopping and back-slapping” (bottom right with Bob Ravitz, ’76, Jack Dawson, ’72, and the late Rick Kells, ’78).
Oklahoma City University School of Law will miss Professor Dan Morgan and plans to honor his career, devoted service and expert storytelling in the next issue of LAW Magazine.
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Michael O’Shea B.A. HARVARD UNIVERSITY J.D. HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Lee Peoples B.A. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA J.D. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA M.L.I.S. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
M.A. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Distinction • Modeling the Second Amendment Right to Carry Arms (I): Judicial Tradition and the Scope of “Bearing Arms” for Self-Defense, 61 Am. U.L. Rev. 585, 637-38 ( 2012 ), cited twice by the majority in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case of Edward Peruta v. County of San Diego ( 2014 ) Presentations
Appointment
• Local Firearms Regulation, Preemption Puzzles: Firearms, Fracking, Foreigners, Fuels and Farming, University of Florida Levin College of Law (February 2013 )
• Committee member, Section on Law
• Litigating the Affirmed Right to Arms, Up in Arms: The Second Amendment in the Modern Republic, University of Connecticut Law Review Fall Symposium (November 2013 )
Award
• The Oklahoma Constitution: Single Subject Rule Jurisprudence, Tulsa Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (January 2013 ) • New Frontiers in the Second Amendment, University of Tennessee-Knoxville College of Law Symposium (March 2014 ) Interviews • Gun Rights Groups Target Local Rules, Wall Street Journal Law Blog (February 2013 ) • Law-Tier Cases on Gun Docket: Justices limit review to sale of purchase issues, Marcia Coyle, The National Law Journal (October 2013 )
Publication
• Testing the Limits of WestlawNext received the 2013 Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section (AAL-SIS) Outstanding Article Award from the American Association of Law Libraries Presentation
• The Reimagined Law Library: Reflecting the Shift from Collections to Services, Association of American Law Schools 2014 meeting Publication
• J. William Conger: An Inspiration to China’s Future Trial Lawyers, 38 Oklahoma City University Law Review 45-48 (2013)
• Designing a Law Library to Encourage
• Why Firearm Federalism Beats Firearm Localism, 123 Yale Law Journal Online 359 ( 2014 )
Shannon Roesler B.A. UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS J.D. UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LL.M. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY M.A. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO M.A. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
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Libraries and Legal Information, Association of America Law Schools ( 2013-2015 )
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Learning, Journal of Legal Education (May 2014 )
Publication • Determining What Equity Means in the Context of Global Climate Change, Rethinking Sustainability to Meet the Climate Change Challenge (Keith Hirokawa & Jessica Owley eds.), Environmental Law Institute ( 2014 )
Emma Rolls
Awards
• 2013 Student Bar Association Law Professor of the Year • 2013 J. William Conger Mentor of the Year Publication
B.A. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
• J. William Conger: The Lagniappe, 38 Oklahoma City University Law Review 51 ( 2013 )
J.D. UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Casey RossPetherick B.A. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY J.D. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY M.B.A. OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
Andrew Spiropoulos B.A. CARLETON COLLEGE J.D. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO M.A. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Appointments • Appointed Interim Director of the American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center at Oklahoma City University School of Law • Uniform Law Commission’s Tribal Probate Code Drafting Committee participant Presentations • The Roberts Court, Constitution Day Panel, Oklahoma City University (September 2013 )
• Indian Land Interests in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Real Estate Lawyers Group meeting (February 2014 ) • American Indian Women in Oklahoma, Native Peoples of Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma online course • Indian Land Trusts and the Restrictions on Indian Testamentary Freedom, Law, Property and Society Conference, Vancouver, BC (May 2014 )
Publications • Estate Planning for Indian Land in Oklahoma: A Practitioner’s Guide, Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 14 )
Publication
• Tocqueville and the American Amalgam, 11 Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 103-124 ( 2013 )
• American Indian Wills Clinic Provides Development of Practical Skills through Service, Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 5) • Effectively Representing Indian Tribes in Tribal State Matters (with Sarah Jane Gillett), Emerging Issues in Tribal-State Relations ( 2013 ) • Oklahoma Legislative Action: American Indian Education Initiatives for the 2014 Session, Native American Times (September 2013 )
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S T U DE NT PR O F I LE
Beau Bruhwiler Father of Four Manages Work, School and Family
Carla Spivack
3L 2014-2015 HOMETOWN:
Yukon, OK UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
B.A. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY J.D. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PH.D. BOSTON COLLEGE
Presentations
• The Seventeenth Century Novel: A Forgotten Chapter in the Construction of the Human, Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, University of London (March 2013 )
• The Indian Mutiny and the Novel as Genre, The Northeast Modern Language Association, Boston, MA (March 2013 )
• Women and Inheritance, The Law and Society Association, Boston, MA (May 30 – June 3, 2013)
• [organizer] Wills, Trusts & Estates Meets Gender, Race and
University of Central Oklahoma
Class Conference, Oklahoma City University School of Law (September 2013 )
• New Approaches to Trusts and Estates, Association of
MAJOR:
American Law Schools (AALS) Panel ( 2014 )
Philosophy
• Trusts under Civil Law: Different Policies, Different Laws, Law, ABOUT:
Property and Society Conference, Vancouver, BC (May 2014)
Works full time for the Federal Aviation Administration and goes to law school full time; also has a wife and four children under the age of 10.
Publication • Killers Shouldn’t Inherit from Their Victims – Or Should They, 48 Georgia Law Review 145 ( 2013 )
Making News Now The School of Law’s Very Own Atticus Finch
W “You become a skilled juggler when you are required to work a full-time job, raise four little humans, and maintain your grades in a difficult academic program. Managing all of these responsibilities has proven to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Fortunately, I have an incredible wife that has supported me from the very beginning…”
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HEN 1981 graduate Barry Grissom told a recent audience of students, alumni and friends that his legal hero was Atticus Finch, it was more than just talk. As the United States Attorney for Kansas, Grissom has dedicated the last six years to defending the Constitution and protecting our citizens. In Finch-like fashion, that often includes those members of our society in need of special protection – the under represented and frequently targeted. Over the past year, you may have seen Oklahoma City University School of Law’s real-life Atticus Finch on national television directing two high-profile investigations. Grissom is overseeing the cases of the attempted Wichita airport bomber and the recent attack at a local Jewish community center. In doing so, he continues in the both Atticus and OCU tradition of providing a voice to the voiceless.
He continues in the both Atticus and OCU tradition of providing a voice to the voiceless.
I
NTERNATIONAL students will soon have the option of pursing
New LL.M. in American Law to Launch
law students. The LL.M. program will place interna-
their LL.M. in a thriving,
tional LL.M. candidates in
progressive city at a law
many of the same courses
school with widespread ties
Spanning the Globe
legal education of current
to the global community.
fact, except for two required
Oklahoma City University School of Law is joining the ranks of dozens of other
courses open only to LL.M. candidates, the international students will select the
U.S. law schools that offer
remainder of their required
masters programs geared
24 credits from courses
toward those who hold a degree in law from
that J.D. students take. In
Despite the recession, the United States is by far the largest economy in the world, nearly two times larger than its closest rival.
another country. Why so many? Why one more? Why so many? The answer is simply globalization. Despite the recession, the United States is by far the largest economy
offered in the J.D. curricu-
in the world, nearly two BY L AW R E N C E K . H E L L M A N DEAN EMERITUS P R O F E S S O R O F L AW D I R E C T O R of the C E N T E R for I N T E R N AT I O N A L P R O G R A M S
times larger than its closest rival (China). Commercial entities seek out lawyers
lum. Classrooms and study sessions will become more stimulating and lifetime relationships with global
who can help them do
dimensions will be formed.
business in the U.S. and with American companies.
As with the School of
To meet this demand, legal
Law’s J.D. students, LL.M.
professionals around the
students will finish the
world find it valuable to be-
program ready to become
come knowledgeable about
leaders in law, business,
the American legal system.
government and civic life.
Why one more? That
Thus, as an institution,
answer, perhaps surpris-
Oklahoma City University’s
ingly, is because of the law
influence will quite
school’s desire to enrich the
literally span the globe.
Lawrence K. Hellman served as Oklahoma City University School of Law’s Dean for 13 years. Under his leadership, the law school established educational programming for students, lawyers and judges from China. Hellman joined the faculty at Oklahoma City University in 1977 after practicing law with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and serving on the faculty of his alma mater, Washington & Lee University School of Law.
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Photo by Lisa Lee Photography
The Oklahoma City National Memorial sits peacefully where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood.
BY J O S H UA S N AV E LY
’10
Assistant Dean of Advancement and External Relations
Lasting Legacy New Murrah Center to Analyze Homeland Security Law and Policy
S
OME DAYS IN AMERICAN HISTORY are forever engraved in our memories. The day President Kennedy was assassinated. September 11th. For those of us in Oklahoma, April 19th is such a day. And indeed people from across the country were stunned and changed by the acts that occurred that day at the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. How and why? Oklahoma City was not the largest of cities. It was not a “high risk” target. The City (as it is called by many locals) was fairly idyllic and at that time, most people would say they felt insulated and safe from such heinous acts. It wasn’t until the investigation of the bombing and subsequent prosecution of the perpetrators were over that the city, state and nation fully realized terrorists can attack anywhere, at any time. With that realization our entire nation stood at the door to the future and what we knew then forever changed everything. We could no longer be so naïve. We lost our innocence. With next year marking the 20th anniversary of the loss of that innocence, the loss of our family and friends and the loss of the building that once bore the name of Judge Alfred P. Murrah, Oklahoma City University School of Law is establishing a unique center for homeland security law and policy. A center that will bear the name of the judge and building that once stood for defense
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17
of country and Constitution in our
The formal launch
city. A center that will stand, now in
of the Murrah
symbolic tribute, for not only these
Center will occur
same values, but for the ideals, free-
April 17-20, 2015,
doms and beliefs of this country that
in conjunction
cannot be taken. That will not be lost.
with the 20th
The Judge Alfred P. Murrah Center for Homeland Security Law and Policy at Oklahoma City University School of Law will examine the unique and novel legal issues central to protecting and securing the homeland. In partnership with the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, the
anniversary of
“It wasn’t until the investigation of the bombing and subsequent prosecution of the perpetrators were over that the city, state and nation realized terrorists can attack anywhere, at any time.”
the Oklahoma City Bombing. The weekend will include a special homeland security conference that is a collaboration between Oklahoma City University School of Law, the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security and its Homeland Security Institute and the Oklahoma City Bombing National Memorial.
Murrah Center will provide analysis of
The state of Oklahoma, and the nation as a whole,
the key legal issues faced by the U.S.
has made great strides in the past 20 years to protect
Department of Homeland Security,
our people and infrastructure and prevent acts of
serve as a voice on domestic security
domestic and international terrorism. The Murrah
matters and offer research, insight
Center for Homeland Security Law and Policy will
and support to the private sector in a
now be a long-standing partner to those in the
variety of homeland security areas.
trenches fighting to keep the homeland safe.
Providing valuable insight and counsel in preparation for this historic commemorative event, the Judge Alfred P. Murrah Center for Homeland Security Law and Policy created an advisory board. Members include: Harvey Rishikof, ABA National Security Standing Committee Advisory Chair; Admiral (ret.) James McPherson, ABA National Security Standing Committee Chair; Joe Whitley, ABA Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice Section Chair; Major General (ret.) John Altenburg, Greenberg Traurig LLP; Susan Ginsberg, Principal at U.S. Civil Security LLP; Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb, State of Oklahoma; Professor Marc
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Blitz, Oklahoma City University School of Law; Judge Timothy DeGuisti, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma; David Cid, Director of the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism; Don Gifford, Assistant. U.S. Attorney; Matt Kane, Ryan Whaley Coldiron Shandy; Kari Watkins, Executive Director of the Oklahoma City Bombing National Memorial & Museum; Professor Suzanne Hayden, Henley Putnam University; Joe Crosthwait, Crosthwait Law Firm; Pete Serrata, Assistant Dean for Law Career Services; and Joshua Snavely, Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Relations.
Joshua M. Snavely ’10 is an attorney currently serving as the Assistant Dean of Advancement and External Relations at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Snavely earned a Masters of Law degree in National Security and Foreign Relations from George Washington University and a JD and MBA from Oklahoma City University, where he graduated cum laude. Snavely worked for the United States Army, the Oklahoma City office of Crowe and Dunlevy, and the United States Attorney’s Office. In addition, he currently teaches national security law classes at the law school.
Oklahoma City University School of Law’s inaugural group of Summer Start students on the steps of the Oklahoma Judicial Center.
Starting law school in May rather than
students, allows us to form
August? It is a fresh new
with each other and with
option thanks to the
the staff, along with our
Summer Start program.
professors,” said Charles
stronger relationships
Summer Start Program Launches Summer Start is a twist on traditional summer school, because it is incoming 1Ls who are attending classes starting in late May. Whether coming
Watts, Class of 2016. Students in Summer Start take Legal Analysis and Criminal Law. But they also get a front row view of
directly from college or
the legal system at work.
returning to the classroom
Participating students
after working for a few
observe oral arguments
years, this program offers
at state and federal court
a jump-start that many
proceedings, tour the
students find appealing.
Oklahoma Judicial Center,
“This time on campus,
visit local law firms and
with dramatically less
meet judges and attorneys.
Many nonprofit organizations need the assistance and guidance of an attorney but don’t have the budget to have one on staff or to outsource the work to a local firm. Because of this trend, the School of Law has partnered with OCU’s Petree College of Arts and Sciences to offer a joint J.D./M.A. degree in Law and Nonprofit Organiza-
New Joint Degree Opportunity Offered tions and Leadership. This is an opportunity for students with a passion for the law and nonprofit programs to earn a degree in both in less time than would be required if pursuing each degree separately.
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“Over the next two decades, the way in
A distinguished panel of experts
which lawyers work
in the field of wills,
will change radically.
trusts and estates
Entirely new ways
was on campus for
of delivering legal
a conference hosted by the law school in
services will emerge,
Wills, Trusts & Estates Conference Hosted on Campus
new providers will enter the market, and the workings of our courts will be transformed… A whole set of fresh opportunities will present themselves to entrepreneurial
September 2013. The
and creative
conference united various research efforts
young lawyers.”
and highlighted the effects of inheritance
Excerpt from Tomorrow’s Lawyers by Richard Susskind
law on the distribution of wealth and power in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to the panelists, the law school was
2nd Annual Conger Symposium Looks to the Future
privileged to welcome
In honor of former professor, colleague and friend J. William “Bill” Conger, the Law Library hosted the Second Annual J. William Conger Symposium, this year focusing on new approaches to the practice
keynote speaker Alfred L. Brophy from the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill and
of law. Panelists Jim Calloway, Director of the OBA’s
commenter William
Management Assistance Program, and Elizabeth
P. LaPiana from New
Lauderback ’13, an associate with Dunlap Codding,
York Law School.
led a discussion about new ways lawyers can work, organize their practices and bill for their services.
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21
Left to right: Professor Andrew Spiropoulos, Judge Tymkovich, Dean Couch, Dr. Joe Couch and OCU President Robert Henry.
Judge Tymkovich is joined by members of the Oklahoma City University Law Review.
Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich delivers a public lecture during his tenure as the 2014 McAfee & Taft Distinguished Jurist in Residence.
The Honorable Timothy M. Tymkovich of the U.S. Court
President-Elect David Poarch and
of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit served
Judicial Nominating Commission
as the School of Law’s 2014 McAfee &
joined Judge Tymkovich on the panel.
Taft Distinguished Jurist in Residence.
“There is perhaps nothing more
Judge Tymkovich’s residency included
central to democracy and our system
a public lecture called Election Law
of checks and balances than the
and Political Structure: From Romer
role of an independent judiciary. In
to democracy and our
to Schuette and McCutcheon — a
fact, the Rule of Law and our entire
system of checks and
Larry Ottaway with the Oklahoma
legal system depends
10th Circuit Judge is 2014 Distinguished Jurist in Residence Perspective on the Supreme Court,
on it,” said Dean Couch. “It is with sincere gratitude that I thank Judge Tymkovich and the other panelists for participating in our very important discussion.”
as well as his participation in a panel
Judge Tymkovich also met with
discussion titled An Independent
the Oklahoma City University
Judiciary. OCU President Robert
Law Review, as well as local
Henry, Oklahoma Supreme Court
attorneys and judges, and visited
Justice Steven Taylor, Oklahoma Bar
two criminal law classes.
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“There is perhaps nothing more central
balances than the role of an independent judiciary. In fact, the Rule of Law and our entire legal system depends on it.” Dean Valerie K. Couch
Oklahoma City University’s LAW Magazine brought home a gold medal in the 48th Annual Oklahoma City American Advertising Awards. The Women of Influence issue won gold in the magazine category for
CELEBRATE. CREATE. CULTIVATE. Chairman of the OCU Board of Trustees, Ron Norick, shares his excitement about the law school’s move downtown with those in attendance at the Open House.
self-promotion. By taking
The School of Law opened the doors to its future home for the first time for an evening that included friends, tours and a champagne toast. Nearly 400 joined Dean Couch to see the historic Central High School building “before” renovations began. Glasses were raised as Ron Norick, Chairman of the
the top honor in the local
Oklahoma City University
competition, the magazine
Board of Trustees said,
was automatically entered into
“here’s to the moment
Law Magazine Wins Gold
and the movement that will change our school, our city and ourselves.”
the District 10 competition, which includes all agencies, studios and designers from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. We are pleased to announce that the Women of Influence won silver in
Congratulations to Evan King,
the regional competition.
Class of 2015, for winning the Southeastern
The American Advertising
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEA-
Awards is the advertising
FWA) 2013 Wildlife Conservation Law Writing
industry’s largest competition. Each year the local, regional and national competitions recognize creative excellence in the art of advertising.
Law Student Wins Regional Writing Competition Contest. Evan’s paper was about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. A panel of members of the SEAFWA Legal Committee judged the competition taking into consideration (1) substantive content; (2) clarity; and (3) style. As the winner, Evan presented his paper at the SEAFWA conference in Oklahoma City in October 2013.
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23
Honoring Service Law Career Services held its annual Pro Bono Luncheon November 22, 2013, to honor the Dean’s Pro Bono Fellowship recipients, pro bono volunteers and the organizations that host Oklahoma City University School of Law students. This year’s keynote speaker was Sarah Jernigan McGovern ’06, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Capital Habeas Unit for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City University School of Law graduates are employed at rates comparable to Ivy League schools, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service. The report issued in May 2014 ranks
in the first quartile with an 85.8%
Not only did the School
employment rate for the Class of 2013.
of Law rank in the first
“Employment for our graduates is a top
quartile among the likes of
priority for this law school, especially in this economy,” said Dean K. Valerie Couch. “Those who want to practice law
A First Tier Ranking for Employment Data all U.S. law schools based solely on their most recent graduating class’ employment in J.D. required or J.D. preferred positions. OCU Law ranked
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Harvard, Yale and others, but the law school was also
are receiving the skills and
the highest ranked among
experience at our law school
Oklahoma law schools, as
they need to be practice-ready upon graduation. I think this
well as several law schools
report reflects our emphasis on
in the region.
skills integration, which is making our law students marketable and employable.”
New York Regional Team Members present their second place plaque to Dean Valerie K. Couch. From left to right: Basil Rayan, Jacob Uhler, Dean Valerie K. Couch, Andrew Davis, Taylor Rex Robertson and Coach Leslie Lynch ’93.
During the fall of 2013, the law school hosted two officials from the National Judges College in China for a three-month stay on campus. The purpose of the visit was for the Chinese officials to observe and consult with law faculty about teaching by the case method, particularly with respect to the role of precedent. “Following precedent set by judges in previous cases creates a legal system that is more predictable and equitable,” said Lawrence K. Hellman, Dean Emeritus at the School of Law. Earlier in the year, the
Teams Perform Well in American Association for Justice (AAJ) Regional Competitions The School of
The team that traveled
Law sent two teams
to Chicago included
to the Regional AAJ
Caitlin Irwin, Sean
Student Trial Advocacy
McDivitt, Allison
Competition (STAC) in
Haynes and Patrick
March 2014. The team comprised of Taylor Rex Robertson, Basil Rayan, Andrew Davis and Jacob Uhler came in
amazed with the effort and dedication demon-
team, Fordham, before
and four deans from
eight Chinese law schools for the Second International Symposium on Sino-American Comparative Law. During the symposium, held May 1-3, 2013, professors from both countries exchanged summaries of their recent research resulting in a comparison of legal trends in the world’s two largest economies.
western and Marquette.
Pace University and
then beat the first place
professors
Notre Dame, North-
“I am absolutely
the semi-finals. They
more than 30
against the likes of
Regional, defeating
advanced the team to
Law hosted
Wulfers. They competed
second in the New York
Seton Hall, which
School of
Law School Hosts Officials from the National Judges College in China
strated by the law students who comprise the school’s AAJ STAC teams,” said coach
losing to New York Uni-
Leslie Lynch ’93. “They
versity School of Law
are, without exception,
in the regional finals by
destined to become
a split decision (2-1).
powerful litigators.”
From left to right: Dean Couch exchanges gifts with HAO Yinzhong, Vice President of the National Judges College and judge on the Supreme People’s Court of China, and HU Tianye, Vice Director and Associate Professor of the National Judges College.
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25
Photo by Lisa Lee Photography
AS TIME GOES BY In the beginning of every great journey, there are unknowns. Frodo didn’t know his path through Middle-earth. Dr. Watson didn’t comprehend his influential role with Sherlock. Don Quixote didn’t know an inn from a castle. For OCU Law’s journey to downtown Oklahoma City, there are changes yet to come, impact yet to happen and history yet to be made. Through it all, there is an adventure waiting. Here is where we start on the path, and here is where the unknowns become a grand story to be told.
The Central High School building has had a full and productive life. And it is just getting started.
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T
HE LIFE OF A BUILDING is not always a celebrated thing. Or even a considered one.
Oftentimes, it may be completely overlooked. Even forgotten. And then it’s removed to make room for another building, another overlooked life. That, however, is not the case for every structure. Some stand against the sky with a presence too immense to ignore. Some hold stories that are retold. Some are a story that should be repeated through every
generation, if necessary, so that the forgetting never comes.
as the soon-to-be home of Oklahoma
Some buildings actually become the story themselves.
This building has things to say. And
The Central High School building did not start as a symbol of triumph and progress. It was not erected to touch lives, it was created to teach them, but it has done just that. It found its place in history during the first blooms of Oklahoma City, again when terrorism stood at the door, and now it is charting the journey into the future
probably say something like this:
City University School of Law. if these walls could talk, they would
STARTING AT THE BEGINNING IS A VERY GOOD PLACE TO START Before Oklahoma City became nearly interchangeable with the term “The Heartland,” it was simply a vast expanse of land with whatever potential the adventurous
L AW. O K C U . E D U
29
pioneers decided to see in it. What
resides at 8th and Harvey. Two
was to build a very impressive
they saw made it the capital.
years later, the doors opened and
central high school for that city.”
From petroleum to agriculture, from
“Oklahoma City was striving to
the entrepreneurs to the dedicated workers, Oklahoma City started out with a desire to be established as a place of note. And that’s where the
the school day commenced. become a major city in the area,” explains Lee Peoples, professor of law and law library director at
And so they did. The building, a five-story structure with masonry and tile work so complex it could not be recreated
OCU School of Law and co-author
today, became the home of higher
of an upcoming book detailing
learning for the area, allowing the
In 1909, the school board approved
the dense history of the building.
city to now compete with larger
a plan for the ornate structure that
“At that time the way you do that
cities in the region like Kansas City.
Central building enters the story.
From a logistics perspective, how will this move support the students?
--------
The building
What do you envision will be the future of the school after this monumental move?
--------
itself will become Our law school
How will the law school remain connected to the university after the move?
What is one of the most beneficial aspects of this move downtown?
We envision the
One of the great
--------
downtown building to be a venue for
a world-class
will prominently
learning
other departments
become “the
environment
of the university –
City’s Law
particularly
dance, art, theater,
School.” We will
designed for our
music, business and
be the premier
legal education
nursing in particular,
law school in
further enriching
program,
the region for
the downtown
with efficient
individuals
community. The
classroom
who seek to
interdisciplinary
technology, an
receive both an
focus of our
inspiring moot
academically
curriculum and
courtroom, spe-
rigorous and
programs will create
cially designed
intensely
many opportunities
space for our
real-world legal
to stay connected
clinics, plenty
education in
to other academic
of parking and
the heart of the
units of the
room to grow.
United States.
university.
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--------
benefits is being able to place our law students in the heart of the legal and business community
How does this relocation benefit the downtown community?
In what ways will the school be active in the downtown community?
Our school offers
The school will be
--------
flexible scheduling that permits students to earn a law degree on a part-time basis. Being downtown will make
of our thriving capital
this unique option
city. Here we are,
even more convenient
at the seat of state
and cost-effective for
government, the
those who work in the
center of our state’s main industries, the main heartbeat of our state’s music, arts and sports world, and the central hub of our court system and
downtown community. That, and we will also inject the vibrancy of a big university presence. 500-plus people big. We will be living,
--------
an active player in the downtown legal community and be involved in community improvement and problem-solving. Our world-class law library will be more accessible to the City’s lawyers, judges, business and government leaders and other individuals. Moving downtown has ignited our imagination, and everyday we are envisioning new ways we
studying, dining, riding,
can become integrated
is where we can best
walking, entertaining
into the life of the City
position our students
in and caring about our
and contribute to its
for their future.
neighborhood.
momentum.
bar associations. This
$23 Million Goal:
We’re Over Halfway!
On December 5, 2012, we closed on the building. It was a monumental “In the early 1900s, a high school
EVERY TIME A BELL RINGS
degree is what you might think of
George Gibson is surrounded by
now as a college degree,” says Peoples.
moment. As a show of faith and belief in the future of Oklahoma City University School of Law,
telephones. All kinds of telephones.
the Central High School building
Inside those walls, the future develop-
Telephones that are rotary. Telephones
was purchased and plans for our
ers of the state learned multiplication
that are dial. Telephones with a
tables and how to conjugate verbs.
Mickey Mouse head. Telephones that
From 1911 to 1968, students walked across the stage as graduating seniors
require an operator at the other end to connect the two parties and listen in.
move downtown launched. We knew the coming years would require work and diligence to complete the plan. As our goal, we needed to raise $23 million to cover
embarking on a world outside those
the purchase of the building, the
walls. Then, for several years that
renovations, and the furniture needed
followed, the school became a hub for
to begin classes in January 2015.
junior high students before turning
I’m incredibly pleased to announce
into an alternative school in 1976 and
that our supporters and alumni are ex-
then ending its tenure as an educa-
ceeding our expectations. As of June
tional institute altogether in 1979.
2014, we have raised more than half
It was time for the building to begin
our goal. We’re over halfway there!
its second life: the private sector.
This is such an encouragement George Gibson
and thrill for those working tirelessly on making this historic move possible. The show of faith has been incredible, and we are encouraged by the display of loyalty and financial support that illustrates how much you believe in this project and in the future of OCU Law. We thank you, we appreciate you, and we have faith that you will help us reach the final goal. Here’s to the future. It just keeps getting brighter. by Ron Norick Chairman of the OCU Board of Trustees
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31
At the Oklahoma Museum of
“Then (Southwestern Bell) President
original architectural drawings,
Telephone History where he often
(John Parsons) and I decided to
Southwestern Bell began renovating
volunteers, Gibson can walk you
see if we could buy that building
through, not only the history of an
because we needed more room,”
the building to restore it as close
industry, but the history of every
says Gibson, Southwestern Bell’s
generation since Alexander Graham
Chief Engineer, who always refers
Bell tinkered with vibrating wires.
to the Central building as “One
Surrounded by history is where he began telling a piece of his own and of a certain grandiose building that would cross his path.
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Bell.” To him, that’s what it will
to its original design as possible. The structure wasn’t damaged, but the building needed attention and one great big hug.
always be. And in 1981, that’s what
“There were literally urinals sitting
it became for Oklahoma City, too.
in the hallway that had been torn
Using the remarkably accurate
off the wall,” says Gibson.
“When I took my secretary over there and told her we were doing open space planning, she said, ‘How open space is it going to be over here?’” For a building used to being filled with life, it was once again filled. Gibson recounts his time at One Bell, aka Central, with lots of grins and private chuckles. It was a place of work, but also laughter, of business, but also camaraderie. “We worked hard, but we played a lot,” Gibson recalls. By the 1990s, Southwestern Bell began to shrink inside those walls. There were fewer employees, and that meant less need of space. It was time to pass the building on to the American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company, but not before it would serve one of its most important roles yet. NO PLACE LIKE HOME The meeting was scheduled the morning of April 19th in the general counsel office, an office with windows facing the south. Instead, Dave Lopez, who, at the time, was President of Southwestern Bell Communications and most recently served as the interim superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools, held it in his office. A few minutes later, the explosion knocked him out of his chair. And that office, the one facing the south, now had shards of glass embedded in the walls.
T H E
S PA C E
W I T H I N
One might think taking a sledgehammer to a building on the National Register of Historic Places is a very bad idea.
That whack will shape the next 100 years in
But, that’s just what Dean Couch
“Coming downtown is an affirmation of faith in
did in January 2014 when she donned a hard hat and officially broke ground on the School of Law’s renovation project at 800 N. Harvey. Her ceremonial first whack was the culmination of more than 18 months of thinking,
the School of Law’s history. Because the result of that whack will move the City’s law school about two miles southeast into the heart of a thriving, metropolitan area. A metro that is consistently pushing the limits of what was once just prairie and tumbleweeds when Central High was built more than a century ago. the future on the part of the law school,” said Von Creel, OCU Law Professor Emeritus. There is no denying that the spirit of those who walked the halls for so many years is with us as the law school returns this magnificent building to its original purpose. And as the new walls take shape, let us remember the words
“what could be,” “what should
of Frank Lloyd Wright who said, “The space
be,” and “let’s make it so.”
within becomes the reality of a building.” L AW. O K C U . E D U
33
Presidential Perspective: Growing Connected To me, Oklahoma City University and Oklahoma City are steadfast siblings — joined at our core, celebrating triumphs, and lifting one another through the challenges. Indeed it was Oklahoma City father Antone Classen, whose “street” leads to our university, who really created the idea that became Oklahoma City University. For more than a century of Oklahoma City’s 125-year history, OCU has grown alongside this spirited place we call home. Now it is our destiny to house the university’s law school in the historic Central High School building, designed and built by one of Oklahoma’s most prolific architects, Solomon Andrew Layton; the man behind the vision of the Kirkpatrick Theatre on the OCU campus, as well as other Oklahoma City landmarks such as the state capitol, Oklahoma Historical Society and the Skirvin Hotel. The relocation of OCU’s School of Law to the Central High School building in downtown Oklahoma City significantly reinforces this connection. Yes, we are linked by a common location, but more importantly, we are tethered by a desire to enrich the educational, cultural and economic prospects of our residents and students. In the downtown school, we envision a place where students connect to business and law mentors, while the community can connect with university sponsored lectures, presentations and cultural
events. On our main OCU campus, we have the opportunity to offer new science facilities, enhanced learning space and support for the performing arts. This move supports OCU’s commitment to sustaining a vibrant community of teachers and learners for years to come. I am inspired to witness history come full circle with the return of Central High School — an Oklahoma City educational landmark — to its original purpose. It shows a respect to the lessons of our past and a commitment to the promise of the future. To me, that is a tenet of higher education. As people from around the country invest in our downtown law school, I am also reminded of the strengths of personal connection. With every donation, there is a story about how the university, or the city, changed a life, or a dream about how we can shape the future. This is truly an extraordinary institution in an extraordinary city that inspires extraordinary loyalty. At Oklahoma City University, we have taken the first steps into our second century of providing an education that produces leaders prepared to not only face the future, but also mold it. I believe the Law School move downtown is an example of the impressive pace we have set to continue to propel our institution and great city forward.
Oklahoma City Fire Chief Gary Marrs
“The force was so intense my initial thought was that it was our building that had an explosion,” says Lopez. As the weeks and years would testify, the explosion occurred at the Murrah Federal Building and that moment in 1995 had just altered a nation. Instantly, life in One Bell went into response mode. Employees were evacuated to the west parking lot, the devastating news was shared, and, as Lopez says, “I still remember the screams of anguish.” SWB employees had family in that
Robert H. Henry OCU PRESIDENT
building. This day had just gotten as personal as a day comes. Meanwhile, dressed in a suit and tie and trained to be ready for anything, Oklahoma City Fire Chief Gary Marrs was arriving on the Murrah scene and surveying an incident that would be in the forefront of his mind for months, actually years, to come. “Quite frankly, the first 24 hours you don’t stop and think that this is huge, that this is overwhelming. It never crossed my mind,” says Marrs. “You just kick into the (command) system, and you know what has to be set up.” As rumors of a possible second bomb surfaced, Marrs knew they
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What
will the move
impact?
The better question is, “What will it not?” The move of Oklahoma City University School of Law to the corner of 8th and Harvey means more room for classes, better symmetry for the law school, a home of its own and a historic one at that. But that’s not all it means.
“Quite frankly, the first 24 hours you don’t stop and think that this is huge, that this is overwhelming. It never crossed my mind.” needed a command post far enough away for safety yet close enough for rapid response. That’s when that old Central High School building, aka One Bell, still on the corner of 8th and Harvey and as steady as the city itself, became command central. From that point on, One Bell, aka Central, was now aka The Command Center. Or, as Lopez says some of the first initial rescue workers from Phoenix and Sacramento called it, “Bell Hotel.” That’s where they would sleep, shower, and prepare for the next shift until every last Oklahoman was brought out. The covered parking on the west became a “makeshift Wal-Mart,” Marrs says. Everything a rescue worker could possibly need, from goggles to gloves, was available and free. It also served as the hub for everything needed in the response effort, like a
“People will be blown away by how positive an impact it will have. Not just economically, but from a synergy perspective,” says Chris Fleming of Midtown Renaissance, a redevelopment group. “It’s about the vitality it will bring to the neighborhood.” That vitality was what had been missing for years back when downtown was mostly business during the day and silence at night, explains Mickey Clagg, president of Midtown Renaissance. As an office park, the hustle and bustle of activity would come to near extinction when the clock struck five. That, however, is no longer the lifestyle of downtown, which has evolved into an activity center with museums, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the renovation of the Myriad Gardens, Bricktown, the Cox Center. In short, Clagg says downtown and midtown is “where it’s happening.” Now, with Oklahoma City University School of Law adding the student population, as well as faculty and staff, who will be needing places to eat, to live, to shop, to be entertained and be involved in, the energy level of the area just reached a fever pitch. “All of a sudden it becomes a stimulus for much more to take place around it,” says Roy Williams, director of Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, who believes the school will be the gateway to supporting the transit system and the transit system will be the gateway to more development. “This will create a whole new economic dynamic.”
cafeteria where hot meals were served L AW. O K C U . E D U
35
Photo courtesy Chief Gary Marrs (April 1995)
to the rescue workers 24/7. Rescue agencies also set up
Oklahoma, correction, the entire United States, responded
command posts there so that coordinating between the fire
to the devastation in Oklahoma City and flooded into
and police meant all Marrs had to do was walk a few steps
Central, to its far-reaching columns and tiled floors and
to speak with Oklahoma City Police Chief Sam Gonzales.
wrought-iron doors, to help their fellow Americans.
1892
1909
1910
1926
1968
1968
1975
1976
1976
Oklahoma High School was the first high school organized for the six counties of Oklahoma Territory
Construction began at the 800 N. Harvey site
Construction on the new High School was complete in time for the class of 1910 to graduate (this location was the 5th home of Oklahoma High School since 1892)
Oklahoma High School was renamed Central High School because of the addition of several new high schools needed to accommodate Oklahoma City’s growing population
M AY
SEPTEMBER
M AY
JANUARY
NOVEMBER
M AY
The last class graduated from Central High School
Central Junior High School opens to students as part of a federal plan to desegregate Oklahoma City Public Schools
Classes at Central Junior High School end, and students are moved to F.D. Moon for middle school
Classes begin for 222 students at the new and somewhat controversial Central Innovative High School
Central is added to the National Register of Historic Places
Oklahoma City School Board votes to close Central Innovative High School and move students to another facility
36
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1981
pipes, the flooding during heavy rains, the noise of the heater or air-conditioner making it difficult for the students to hear the professors. Those were the early days of OCU Law when the location was “an issue” and the law school was housed inside the barracks, a WWII building covered with bricks, says Creel, a professor of law emeritus at the School of Law and co-author of Oklahoma City University School of Law: A History.
Old YMCA Building
The Barracks
It became the native soil where the first seeds of the “Oklahoma
THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP
Standard” took root and have
Von Russell Creel remembers the
grown steadily ever since.
windows leaking, the exposed
Through the years there had been talk of moving to various locations, like the First National Bank building, the Fred Jones building, or even to a location in Bricktown. Nothing came to fruition until the Central building, an idea that Creel says “surprised everyone” due to how quickly the opportunity arose and how quickly the opportunity was seized. The move of the School of Law to downtown has been a good fit from the get go — partially due to the positioning, partially due to providence. “In a sense, moving downtown is almost returning to the beginning,” says Creel. Originally a descendant of Epworth University, OCU Law is the evolved child of Oklahoma City College of
1981
1982
1995
2005
2012
2012
2013
2014
2014
2015
AUGUST
Oklahoma City Public Schools sells Central to Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (the location became known as One Bell and served as regional headquarters for the company)
Southwestern Bell generously loaned their building to those responding to the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing
American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company purchased the building from Southwestern Bell
OCTOBER
DECEMBER
OCTOBER
JANUARY
DECEMBER
JANUARY
The Oklahoma City University Board of Trustees approves purchasing the former Central High School building for the future home of the School of Law
The purchase is final, and Oklahoma City University owns the historic building
A contractor is selected, and renovations are slated to begin
Dean Couch breaks ground on the renovation project
Estimated date the School of Law will move in
Classes resume in the former Central High School building for the first time in more than 30 years
Oklahoma City Public Schools opens bidding process on Central High facility
L AW. O K C U . E D U
37
Law, which resided in a number of downtown locations, including the Hart building and the old YMCA building. Moving to the downtown area for Oklahoma City University School of Law is, as Creel explains, like coming home. And home offers extensive opportunities for growth. “This is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with the downtown legal community, the downtown business community, to be involved with all that is happening in Oklahoma City. The opportunity for students to be close to government agencies, to courts, to boards, acting as legal interns at firms, having access to where legal matters are occurring, and having participation in those events,” says Creel. “It’s very exciting and a thrilling opportunity for the school.”
Olinka mural photos by Simon Hurst Photography. Olinka Hrdy portrait courtesy the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.
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L AW. O K C U . E D U
THE SUN IS COMING OUT TOMORROW Solomon Andrew Layton first gave the Central building a voice. As the architect behind other Oklahoma City landmarks, such as the Oklahoma state capitol and the Skirvin Hotel, he fashioned a structure that could age and do so with charm. And maybe a little mischief. Now, Central is talking again and FSB Associates, the
Olinka Hrdy painted quietly. Steadfastly. She touched walls and worlds, leaving a mark that neither created turmoil nor inspired great and woeful noise. No, she painted quietly. But not meekly.
circle, that was attempting to push
Patiently. But not limply. She cut across time
modern art culture in 1929 and
and tapped into contemporary styles. She
1930,” says White. “She was part of
brought angles of Art Deco and swirls of the
the Art Deco movement that became
unconventional, but, still, she did it quietly.
widespread across that city. But
And quietly is how her fame has spread over the last 70-plus years. “Hrdy is really an important figure in the art history of Oklahoma,” says Mark White, Eugene B. Adkins Senior Curator for the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. “She was one of the first modern artists to truly come out of the state.” She began to turn heads during her college years at the University of Oklahoma. Originally from Prague, Oklahoma, she graduated from OU in 1928, painting murals and doing commission work as a way to pay her tuition.
long been lost or, as murals, deteriorated or destroyed, her classical murals at Central High School will remain. Both murals, painted on a thin, cotton canvas and attached to the wall with rubber cement, wood glue, and various odd adhesives, were painstakingly removed by the
Prilliman. They are being cleaned and
White. The contour-type drawings use Roman
restored, including touching up areas where the paint has been lost over the years. Once completed, these rare samples of Hrdy’s early work will, once again, return to their rightful home inside the Central building.
traditional subjects to illustrate classical training
“When they are finished, the murals
and classical education, while incorporating a
will look pretty much like what they
somewhat abstract, somewhat modernist style that
did originally,” says Prilliman.
would develop further during her work in Tulsa. “She was part of a relatively small, but important,
principal at FSB Associates.
Although many of her pieces have
director of the law library at OCU Law.
a style she created during her years at OU, says
along the way,” says Fred Schmidt,
experimental art deco in the city.”
Fine Arts, located in Colorado, says
“Development of the Mind,” the murals reflect
are always unknown surprises
she was doing was some of the most
Western Conservation Center for
building. Called “Development of the Body” and
“With a renovation project, there
pushing that experimentation. What
nition,” says Jennifer Prilliman, associate
paint two murals for the Central High School
renovations, has amplified it.
really, Hrdy was at the forefront of
“That was when she started getting recog-
It was also when she was commissioned to
architectural firm hired for the
Ever so quietly, yet vividly, Hrdy paints on. L AW. O K C U . E D U
39
In preparation for Central’s brand new life, the old auditorium is being recreated
HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU KID
into an open, two-story great hall that will serve as a multiple-purpose area,
When the doors finally do
such as a reading room and a reception area for events. The most dramatic
open, they will open for
makeover is on the fifth floor where interactive classrooms will be located.
people like Krystle Hampton,
All of the changes “reutilized as much of the interior integrity of the building as
a current law student who
possible” in order to preserve the historical items of Layton’s design, says Schmidt.
says the move will have
The result will be a historical structure with space that meets the
“transformative implications”.
growing and contemporary needs of a dynamic law school.
Or as a recent graduate from the Class of 2014 points out, “The advancement of the university is something that will benefit every student who has an OCU degree. As the school grows in prominence, the value of every student’s degree will continue to grow too.” As will the life of a majestic creation on the corner of 8th and Harvey.
NYC
NJ
PHI
DAL
ATX
HOU
SAT
January 5
January 7
January 8
January 14
January 15
January 16
January 18
FTW
MIA
CHI
PHX
LAS
ATL
DC
January 19
January 30
February 8
February 11
February 12
January 23
March 5
Dean Couch’s suitcase was put to the test as she embarked on a tour to showcase the School of Law’s future downtown OKC address. The goal was ambitious – meet 6,000 alums in 60 days. Here is a look at her travel log. Take a guess how many frequent flyer miles she earned ... (answer on page 45)
40
L AW. O K C U . E D U
Famous Graduates from Central High School ELIAS FUNK
Major League Baseball player 1922
WILLIAM “SKINNY” JOHNSON
EMMETT TIDD
Vice Admiral, flotilla commander in the Atlantic Fleet 1941
All American basketball player at the University of Kansas, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 1929
WILLIAM CAUDILL
CAL MCLISH
JACK DURLAND
Major League Baseball player, Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame 1944
JOHN JARMAN
Founded CRS Group, received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal posthumously 1932 President of Cain’s Coffee 1906
JOHN KILPATRICK
5th District OK Congressman 1932
Businessman and Chairman of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority 1939
HAROLD LAHAR
FRED DAUGHERTY
Professional football player 1937
RUSSELL BLACK
WWII veteran, Purple Heart and Air Medal recipient, 30 years with State Department as Foreign Service Officer 1935
AMZIE STRICKLAND Actress 1936
MIKE BRUMLEY
Major League Baseball player 1956
R.A. RORIE
Named VP of St. Louis, San Francisco & Texas Railway Co. 1937
JOHN KIRKPATRICK
Rear Admiral, Oilman, Civic Leader 1925
GEORGE H. SHIRK
Army Colonel, Oklahoma City Mayor, Oklahoma Hall of Fame 1930
DR. THOMAS HOLZBERLE Scientist 1946
DON CHASTAIN
Actor/Singer 1953
BRIGADIER GENERAL WALTER F. DANIEL Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal recipient 1944
U.S. District Judge for the Western, Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma 1931
HARVEY EVEREST
Chairman of Liberty National Bank, founded Sunbeam Home and Family Services 1913
DWAIN D. BOX
Oklahoma Court of Appeals 1936
Please join us as we Grow Forward, grounded in our greatest traditions and sowing the seeds of innovative leadership for our future. For questions about our project, our progress, or potential partnership and naming opportunities, please visit growingforward.okcu.edu
MIKE MONRONEY
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator 1920
or contact Joshua M. Snavely.
MACK SCISM
Founder of the Mummers Theater, staff of the National Theater of the Deaf 1943
ALLEN STREET
Former Oklahoma City Mayor 1905
E.F. “COT” DEAL
Major League Baseball player, managed 89er Baseball Team 1941
BRUCE DRAKE
Head OU Basketball Coach, Assistant Coach of the 1956 USA Men’s Basketball Gold Metal Olympic Team 1924
DEE FULLER
Civic Center Music Hall Director 1933
VICK HOLT
President of Goodyear Tire and Rubber 1924
Do you know a Central alum you want to brag about? Email lawnews@okcu.edu and share their story with us.
JOSHUA M. SNAVELY Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Relations
jsnavely@okcu.edu 405.208.7100
L AW. O K C U . E D U
41
Up to $999 Christin M. Adkins ’98 Jamie R. Andrews Charles R. Ainsworth Robert D. Allen American College of Trial Lawyers Vickie Ayer Chelsea M. Baldwin ’09 Bank of Oklahoma Susan C. Barber & David Nagle J. Edward Barth Richard A. Beale Sally & Steve Bentley Howard K. Berry Joe R. Blake Morris Blumenthal Willis R. Bottger Colleen M. Bowler Sharon & John R. Bozalis Peter B. Bradford Martha & Ron Bradshaw Steve M. Brown Betty C. Cannon Linda L. Carpenter Sherri A. Carver ’91 Michael A. Cawley Cheri & James A. ’67 Clark Don V. Cogman Christopher C. Cooper ’14 Cynthia Cortright Sandra & Art W. Cotton Andrew Davis Gayla DeGiusti Kyle Domnick ’14 Suzanne & James Edmondson Shannon M. Edwards Lida S. & Ron Elkins Christy & James H. ’75 Everest Deborah Felice First Bank Sonja SoRelle & Don Fitzgerald Stan L. Foster Steven R. Foster ’08 John E. Frank Doug Frantz Kent R. Frates Geralyn Geister Connie C. Givens Noma D. Gurich Samantha A. Haggard ’13 Lee P. & Richard Hall John T. Hardin Brandi Haskins Carole Heinrich Gary C. Hill Bette Jo & Frank D. Hill Jennifer M. Hinsperger ’13 Brian W. Hobbs ’03 Allen L. Hutson ’10 J.T. Moon A. Scott Johnson Danné L. Johnson Michelle Johnson ’91 Judy Lehmbeck
Michael A. June James D. Kallstrom Yvonne Kauger ’69 Barbara S. Kinney ’88 Julie & Craig Knutson Catheryn S. Koss ’05 Linda & Timothy M. ’68 Larason Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. Brandon P. Long ’04 John E. Lynn Allison Lyons ’14 W. Carlisle Mabrey James Bruce MacKellar Patti & Richard E. Marshall Donald S. McCarty Sandra L. McHenry Paige McLaughlin ’14 Alisha F. Mehrhoff ’12 Stewart Meyer Earl D. Mills ’59 Christina L. Misner-Pollard Mathis Mone Mary Helen Moricoli Stephen J. Moss ’89 Martha Lee Mullen Brooke S. Murphy Tiffany R. Murphy Alan Newman Celeste B. Pagano William G. Paul Peters & Chandler PC Phillip Truss Insurance Agency William J. Phillips Pam K. Ray Michael E. Reel ’11 Herschel E. Richard Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis Lindy & John W. Ritz Gary G. Roberts Bana & E. Wilson Roberts Elaine A. Robinson J.D. Rohrer ’76 Lynne Roller Linda Kennedy Rosser William H. Sanford ’68 Evelyn B. Simmons Lee Allan Smith Carla N. Spivack Stacey D. Spivey Kelly A. Stoner Phyllis J. Stough James E. Thielke Minnett H. Thornton Sandra & Jon H. Trudgeon David L. Wagner Amanda R. Waite ’12 John N. Waldo Katherine & Russell Walker Richard D. White Leslie M. Wileman ’98 D. Kent Williams Keren Williams McLendon ’07 Laura E. Wilson ’06
JOIN US AS WE GROW FORWARD, grounded in our greatest traditions and sowing the seeds of innovative leadership for our future. If you want to be included on the growing list of alumni, faculty, staff, friends, neighbors and community leaders who are investing in Oklahoma City University School of Law’s momentum and historic move downtown, we invite you to make a gift today. Visit growingforward.okcu.edu and click on INVEST. Or you can call 405.208.7100 to make your donation.
Oklahoma City University School of Law would like to offer our sincere gratitude to those who have given generously to the Growing Forward capital campaign. $1,000 - $9,999 Wayne Allison ’07 Nancy & Robert Anthony Leah M. ’07 & Brad Avey Deborah B. ’83 & Ron M. Barnes ’83 Phyllis E. Bernard Charles F. Bethea Marc J. Blitz Roger Brown Linda J. Byford ’03 Ann & Charles L. Cantrell Pat & Roy W. ’61 Chandler Cathy M. Christensen ’86 Sherry & J. William Conger Cindy & John M. ’79 Crittenden Karen Eby Christine & Greg Eddington Jean E. Giles Ann & Burns Hargis Alvin C. Harrell ’72 Carolyn & Philip D. Hart Suzanne C. Hayden ’84 Gay ’80 & Larry K. Hellman Susan & John N. Hermes Teresa & Glede W. ’01 Holman Karen L. Howick ’78 Tina A. Hughes ’90 Barry L. Johnson Laurie L. Jones Legal Graphics, Inc. Edward C. Lyons
$10,000 - $49,999
Your gift will contribute to the legacy of this great institution for years to come. Thank you for making a tremendous difference in the lives of our students – past, present and future.
Anonymous Donor Ju-Chuan & Dennis W. Arrow Hamden H. Baskin ’82 Kay & James C. Bass ’66 Andrew K. Benton ’79 Donna & Len Cason Sherry & Joe ’74 Crosthwait Paula J. Dalley Keri Williams ’00 & Brent Foster Michael T. Gibson Keegan ’10 & Nicholas ’09 Harroz Barbara Thornton & Niles L. Jackson ’75
Carrie & Steve ’92 Katigan Linda & Tom ’76 Klos Eric T. Laity Arthur G. LeFrancois Martha & Robert C. ’74 Margo Marilyn & Bud ’65 Meade George R. Milner ’92 Keri C. Prince ’97 & Ty Norris Ann & Michael P. O'Shea Tom Quinn ’74 Casey R. Ross-Petherick ’03 Pam & Stuart ’76 Schroeder Pete G. Serrata ’06 Trust Company of Oklahoma Tulsa Deborah S. Tussey
$50,000 - $99,999 Vicki L. MacDougall ’77 Brendan S. Maher Christopher Martin McDaniel Family Foundation LeAnne McGill ’06 Debbie ‘89 & Kenneth N. McKinney Rozia M. McKinney-Foster ’81 Lisa G. Minx-Bays ’91 Michael Mitchelson Daniel J. Morgan Angela R. Morrison ’90 OCU Student Affairs OCU Student Government Assoc. Emma V. Rolls & Lee Peoples Kendra Robben Lewis ’07 Shannon M. Roesler Lois L. & John Salmeron Hiram S. Sasser ’02 Andrew R. Schroeder ’07 Stephanie K. & Tom Seymour David Slane ’94 Justin G. Smith ’06 Douglas J. Sorocco Ellen & Andrew C. Spiropoulos Irwin H. Steinhorn Elaine R. Turner ’89 Courtney K. Warmington ’99 Watson Family Foundation Sheryl N. Young ’90
Anonymous Donor Steve Agee Chimene & Bob G. ’79 Burke Valerie K. & Joe Couch
Steven C. Davis, PC Gretchen & Larry D. Hartzog Kay L. & Clark Musser Kim & David E. Rainbolt
$100,000 - $499,999 Anonymous Donor BancFirst Connie & Randall ’90 Calvert Crowe & Dunlevy Charlotte & Joe ’74 Edwards Jane & Gerald ’68 Gamble Hartzog, Conger, Cason & Neville, LLP
Jan & Robert H. Henry Sue & Gary ’74 Homsey William C. Mee Midtown HC, LLC James H. and Madalynne Norick Foundation H. E. Rainbolt Sarkeys Foundation Pam & Bill ’65 Shdeed
$500,000 - $999,999 Anonymous Donor Kandy & Ronald J. Norick Pat & Ray ‘65 Potts
$1,000,000 and up
Anonymous Donor Chickasaw Nation
E.L. & Thelma Gaylord Foundation Inasmuch Foundation
Gifts and pledges as of May 31, 2014.
BY K E L L I S T U M P ’ 0 6
“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” ~ Maya Angelou
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Why I Give: T. Douglas Stump Give When You Don’t Have Time to Teach
G
IVE A MAN A FISH and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for life. “But when you don’t have time to teach, give to those who do,” says T. Douglas Stump, lifelong immigration lawyer and Oklahoma City University School of Law alumnus. Stump’s follow-up to the old proverbial statement embodies both his life and work — Stump gives his time (when available) and money to those who teach future lawyers who will go on to promote justice in this country. Stump is a 1982 graduate of Oklahoma City University School of Law, and for more than 30 years, he has been practicing immigration law in Oklahoma. Stump has a long list of accomplishments, honors and titles. The most recent of which, and perhaps the most impressive, is his appointment and service as president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), where he gave of his time, talent and treasure this last year to teach and serve more than 13,000 immigration lawyers in this country. But all the achievements and honors pale in comparison to his life’s work. “If there were anything I could be in life, if I could go back and do it all over again, if I
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45
60K60DAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: 17,666 MILES
If there were anything I could be in life, if I could go back and do it all over again, if I could do anything I wanted to do... could do anything I wanted to
bears his name, Stump firmly
do, I would be an immigration
believes in his responsibility
lawyer,” Stump reflects.
to give back to those who have
Really? People often ask. Why
given to us.
such certainty? Why such
“It is not merely our respon-
conviction for a seemingly
sibility to give back to the
narrow area of law and life? “My
institutions who gave to us, but
passion for immigration law, my
our honor and our duty. None
passion for immigration justice,
of us, and I mean NONE of us,
comes from being an American
would be where we are today
and the promise of this country.”
without the support system and
According to Stump, his passion stems from his participation in the night program at Oklahoma City University School of Law. He says his education and subsequent status as a reputable attorney wouldn’t be possible
foundation given to us by this great institution (Oklahoma City University School of Law) and thus the burden is upon all of us to take part in this great and important work of teaching the next generation of lawyers.”
without those who gave their
“I encourage all graduates,
time and money to the program.
members of the community,
Fortunately for his alma mater, Stump makes sure he finds both the time and resources to “give” to his law school. From
and friends, to give their time or their money to this place that has taught and continues to teach so much to us.”
accepting the annual giving
Teach a man to fish. According
challenge, to the courtroom in
to T. Douglas Stump, that is what
the Sarkeys Law Center that
makes our country so great.
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A nationally recognized attorney, and popular speaker, for legal, industry, business and civic organizations, T. Douglas Stump focuses his practice on employmentbased immigration law, complex deportation, federal court litigation and family immigration matters. His firm is one of the oldest immigration law firms in the state of Oklahoma and represents a large portfolio of clients across the U.S. ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to individuals. Stump has been listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers since 1996, and is listed in “Best Lawyers in America” for immigration law and in Who’s Who of International Corporate Immigration Attorneys. He has co-edited over 30 books on immigration law and spoken at more than 75 national and international conferences on immigration law.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli Stump is T. Douglas Stump’s daughter. She is a 2006 magna cum laude graduate of Oklahoma City University School of Law. Kelli is an associate at Stump & Associates in Oklahoma City where her immigration practice focuses on complex deportation, federal litigation and family and employment based immigrant petitions. She is a member of AILA, currently serving as the Oklahoma Section Coordinator for the Texas Chapter of AILA.
BY J E N N I F E R P R I L L I M A N Associate Law Library Director
Judging a Book by Its Cover Library “Wins” for Worst Book Ever
T
HERE ARE A FEW GENERAL rules the Law Library hopes its patrons can rely on when visiting. One is the old adage to “never judge a book by its cover.” You never know what valuable information is lying beneath a dusty cover. The other is that the Oklahoma City University School of Law Library provides access to excellent resources for faculty, students and members of the Oklahoma Bar. But, as every lawyer knows, for every rule there is an exception. The best lawyers know how to use those exceptions to enhance their argument and create an advantage for their client. In 2004 several of the OCU Law Library’s books were damaged by a water leak in the Gold Star building. The damaged items included a number of bound volumes of the Anglo-American Law Review. Based on the damage, it was easy to judge
this book by its moldy cover. No one would ever want to peruse it again. It certainly did not meet the standard of excellence library patrons expect. Here was the exception to the rule. What could/would/should the law library do with these volumes? It took a few years, but librarians soon seized an opportunity.
Libraries from across the country submitted photos of crumbling, moldy, and dilapidated books. Seeing the opportunity, librarians scoured through photo archives until a picture was found that would cause most people to recoil in disgust. There was confidence this book was the worst.
The Law Library’s confidence and resourcefulness paid off! The photo In 2012, the American Association of of the moldy Anglo-American Law Law Libraries Technical Services SpeReview took the first place prize. cial Interest Section hosted a contest Librarians used the winnings to to find the “Worst Book Ever.” Not an purchase binding tape and other award most libraries desire, but this preservation materials to help protect award came with a $150 prize. Law valuable library books so patrons may continue enjoying them. Most libraries would not THE BIG MOVE boast about having the worst The Law Library began the task of moving book ever, and the hope is to its collection of books to the downtown law never be eligible for this honor building in July. 95% of the collection is now again. However, this effort located at the new law school building as the 2014-2015 academic year begins. Librarians demonstrates that Oklahoma plan to retrieve books several times per week City University School of for students who request them. The remaining Law knows how to find the 5% of the collection will be moved in December advantage in any situation to along with the rest of the law school. achieve excellent results. L AW. O K C U . E D U
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BY M I C H A E L P. O ’ S H E A Professor of Law
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Is Carrying a Handgun
Bearing Arms?
How Nineteenth-Century Courts and Twenty-first Century Laws Inform a Major Second Amendment Question
I
T’S OFTEN BEEN POINTED OUT that studying the Second Amendment today is similar to studying the First Amendment in the 1930s or 1940s. In each example, a widely-held belief that the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution protects a significant individual right has just been formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court’s landmark decisions in D.C. v. Heller ( 2008) and McDonald v. Chicago ( 2010) held that the Second Amendment protects an “individual right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense.” Heller struck down as unconstitutional the District of Columbia’s ban on handgun possession and its ban on functional defensive firearms in the home. This was the first time the U.S. Supreme Court had invoked the Second Amendment to invalidate a weapons law. (In comparison, the Court first struck down a censorship law as a violation of the Free Speech Clause in 1931, or 140 years after the ratification of the Bill of Rights.) In the McDonald case, the Court further held that the Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amendment’s restraints equally applicable to state governments, not just the federal government. As with free speech doctrine in the 1930s, there are a tremendous number of issues still to be decided about the Second Amendment. They include major questions such as when prohibitions on particular categories of arms violate the Constitution; what categories
L AW. O K C U . E D U
49
of persons can be constitutionally deprived of the right to keep and bear arms; and how the Second Amendment should apply to laws that restrict citizens from carrying handguns and other common weapons for self-defense outside the home. That last question — the scope and nature of a Second Amendment right to carry for self-defense — has been a major focus of my research in the last few years.
sonal right to arms. Since the 1980s, a dozen states have amended or newly adopted right-to-arms guarantees in their state constitutions, and each of these new provisions emphasizes the individual character of the right. Most also expressly affirm that the right to keep and bear arms is linked to the purpose of personal self-defense.
I have previously written, with only
What about history? I was particularly intrigued, when I started to study this field, to learn that a thoughtful and wide-ranging American jurisprudence of the right to arms developed during the nineteenth century.
interpretation of many Progressive
minor exaggeration, that Heller adopted “a nineteenth century Second Amendment.” If we view constitutional history as a cross-temporal culture conflict, Heller comes down on the common side of Jeffersonian America and twenty-first century America, and it rejects the opposing and New Deal-era voices (which are
still embraced today by a significant Of course it is not even a serious portion of the American elite). question, if one accepts an account of the Second Amendment that was For example, a prominent 1846 popular in much of the legal and decision of the Georgia Supreme cultural establishment in the latter Court struck down a state law that If anything, the early pedigree of the twentieth century. On that view, the both banned pistols and prohibited individual right to keep and bear arms Second Amendment’s reference to the carrying them openly (as in a visible is much richer than the comparable necessity of a “well regulated militia” holster). The decision held that a background of the Free Speech meant that it protected essentially ban on carrying weapons concealed Clause. In the pre-incorporation era, a prerogative of state was permissible as governments, not of long as individuals private individuals. could carry openly. The (This view took root Georgia court declared even though the emphatically that, under amendment also the Second Amendment, describes the right to the right of the whole keep and bear arms as people, old and young, men, a “right of the people,” women and boys, and not the same language militia only, to keep and bear the First Amendment arms of every description, … shall not be infringed, ST. GEORGE TUCKER IN HIS 1803 EDITION OF BLACKSTONE’S uses to describe the curtailed, or broken in upon, COMMENTARIES ON THE COMMON LAW OF ENGLAND freedom to petition in the smallest degree. … the government, and Our opinion is, that any the Fourth Amendment law, State or Federal, is uses to protect the right to be free repugnant to the Constitution, and void, state courts bore most of the responfrom unreasonable searches.) As rewhich contravenes this right, originally sibility for enforcing constitutional belonging to our forefathers, … cently as 1995, the legislative counsel rights. Nineteenth century courts for the American Bar Association We are of the opinion, then, that so far had little to say about the freedom of as the act of 1837 seeks to suppress the (ABA) declared that individual speech, but they took a surprisingly practice of carrying certain weapons Americans had no personal right to active role in adjudicating individual secretly, that it is valid, inasmuch as it arms: “[T]he Second Amendment, claims brought under state and federdoes not deprive the citizen of his natural with regard to gun-control legislation al constitutional rights to bear arms. right of self-defense, or of his constitutional affecting private individuals, is not right to keep and bear arms. But that The U.S. Supreme Court brought this relevant in a prohibitive sense.” so much of it, as contains a prohibition history to the fore in its 2008 Heller against bearing arms openly, is in conflict decision. Heller relied extensively This government-centric view is with the Constitution, and void…. on nineteenth century sources to a tough sell today if one takes an Four years later, another state conclude that the American right to evolutionary or “living” approach to
“In many parts of the United States, a man no more thinks, of going out of his house on any occasion, without his rifle or musket in his hand, than a European fine gentleman without his sword by his side.”
constitutional rights. Large majorities of contemporary Americans tell pollsters they believe they have a per-
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keep and bear arms is, in its words, an individual right “to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.”
supreme court declared that the Second Amendment protected the “right to carry arms … in full open
view,” which allowed citizens to make a “noble defense of themselves, if necessary.” These judicial views were consistent with the first scholarly commentary on the American Bill of Rights, written by the Virginia jurist and academic St. George Tucker. In his 1803 edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Common Law of England, Tucker illustrated the “right to bear arms … secured by the constitution” by pointing out: “In many parts of the United States, a man no more thinks, of going out of his house on any occasion, without his rifle or musket in his hand, than a European fine gentleman without his sword by his side.” Yet this broad, self-defense based reading of the right to arms was not the only one in early America. The nineteenth century tradition contained an important division within itself — to the point that I have sometimes written of there being “two traditions” of the right to arms. In Andrews v. State, a scholarly 1871 opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court interpreted the right “to keep and bear arms” under the state and federal constitutions as reflecting a blend of personal and communal aspects. The right to “keep arms,” it reasoned, could not be viewed as anything other than “a private individual right:” it included the right to purchase, own, and practice with rifles, shotguns, and military revolvers. But the right to “bear arms,” according to this strand of thought, was a civic, political right referring to participation in the militia, in order to take part in the common defense or resist a tyrannical state or federal government. As a result, while individuals had a right to own common firearms useful for militia purposes, self-defense was not a central purpose of their right to arms. Thus, on this view, carrying guns for self-defense could be substantially regulated, although not forbidden. On both of these traditional views, Americans have a personal right to own guns. Neither is compatible with the “collective right” view of the post-New Deal establishment. That view is a twentieth-century improvisation, not a continuance of historic attitudes toward the Second Amendment.
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Which brings us back to Heller
home for self-defense. This right can
the supermajority position in America
and the Second Amendment today.
be regulated, but not prohibited or
today. At least 41 states, representing
Heller adopted the self-defense based
frustrated. This rests on what strikes
over two-thirds of the population,
reading of the Second Amendment,
me as a fairly conventional argument
fall in the “presumptive carry”
favorably citing the Georgia opinion
from precedent. Throughout the
camp: they give law-abiding citizens
and other nineteenth-century
nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
a clear path to obtain the ability
authorities I’ve discussed. Heller
the most commonly litigated aspect
to carry a handgun in most places
declares that self-defense is the
of the right to bear arms under state
for self-defense. The most popular
“central component” and the “core
constitutions was how it applies to
approach in these states is to require
lawful purpose” of the right to arms.
handgun carrying outside the home.
a state permit to lawfully carry a gun,
It rejects the alternative nineteenth
When courts believe the right to bear
while specifying that authorities
century tradition, the hybrid/civic
arms is grounded in self-defense, they
must issue the permit on a “shall
reading under which the right to
have routinely struck down municipal
issue” basis, with no discretion to
arms protects only an individual
and state bans on handgun carrying
right to own militia-type weapons.
as a violation of that right. Thus,
deny the permit unless the applicant
In a recent article in the American University Law Review (61 Am. U. L. Rev. 585 (2012 )), I argued that Heller’s adoption of a self-defense centered interpretation of the right to bear arms
since the Supreme Court adopted a self-defense based view of the Second Amendment in Heller, the Second Amendment right to bear arms should be understood the same way.
is disqualified for a specific reason supplied by law. (This is the approach Oklahoma follows.) A recent Congressional research report estimated that eight million Americans currently hold handgun carry permits.
ought to entail a Second Amendment
As a matter of statutory law, a pre-
At least four presumptive-carry
right to carry handguns outside the
sumptive right to carry handguns is
states go further, authorizing any
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citizen who can lawfully own a handgun
view: the Second Amendment protects a
to carry it without need of a permit.
right of most individuals to carry a handgun
The remaining states, clustered on the east
in most places, but does not require either
and west coasts, recognize only what I call
open carry or concealed carry; rather,
“non-presumptive carry” rights. They vest
government can choose between them.
much more discretion over handgun carry
More generally, regulations such as requiring
permit issuance in state and local officials.
a particular mode of carry, or requiring a
These states typically issue permits only to
“shall issue” carrying permit, do not violate
those found to have an unusual, heightened
the Constitution as long as individuals still
threat to their security, such as documented
have a realistic means to carry in some man-
violent threats or a restraining order. In
ner that is practically useful for self-defense.
states such as New Jersey, only a minuscule
Yet many other lower courts have been
fraction of citizens can obtain permits.
very reluctant to accept the argument that
The biggest open question facing post-Heller
the Second Amendment secures a right to
courts is whether the Second Amendment
carry. The eastern circuit courts of appeals
recognizes presumptive carry rights, which
(Second through Fourth) have all upheld
would require the coastal states’ laws to
restrictive permitting laws. These courts
change to join the mainstream. I’ve argued
have displayed a consistently deferential
in my scholarship that the correct answer
attitude toward gun regulation. Noting that
is yes: both the state court judicial tradition
the laws challenged in Heller and McDonald
and the Supreme Court’s Heller and
dealt with handgun possession in the
McDonald opinions suggest a presumptive right to carry. However, the ultimate answer from the court system is still unclear.
home, they have concluded the Second Amendment allows broad regulation of the possession of firearms outside the home.
Several lower courts have held that the right
I think these courts have failed to draw
to bear arms gives significant protection to
the full consequences from the Supreme
public handgun carrying. The U.S. Court
Court’s adoption of the defense-based
of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in
reading of the Second Amendment in Heller
Moore v. Madigan (2012 ) that an Illinois law
— the Court did not merely discuss home
that completely barred ordinary citizens
possession but glossed the right to “bear
from carrying handguns outside the home
arms” straightforwardly as a right to “carry
violated the Second Amendment. The Illinois
weapons in case of confrontation.” As Judge
Supreme Court reached the same conclusion
Richard Posner pointed out in the Moore
in People v. Aguilar (2013), to which I con-
case, the interest in armed self-defense “is
tributed a co-authored amicus curiae brief. Our own U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has taken a distinct position. Drawing on Heller’s nineteenth century roots, it has held that concealed weapons carrying is constitutionally unprotected, but has also intimated that the Second Amendment may
Professor Michael P. O’Shea is a nationally recognized expert on firearms law and the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. He is co-author of the first law school case book on the subject, Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy (Aspen Publishers 2012). Before joining the faculty at Oklahoma City University School of Law, O’Shea practiced commercial litigation in Chicago and in his hometown of Kansas City.
as important outside the home as inside.” Yet in the past three years, the Supreme Court has turned down several prime petitions for certiorari that would have allowed it to review the skeptical lower court decisions on the Second Amendment
protect the open carrying of handguns in
right to carry. For now, it appears it may be
many situations. A federal district court in
another few years before the issue reaches
Colorado followed this reasoning in Bonidy
the Court. It’s to be hoped that when it
v. U.S. Postal Service ( 2013), striking down
does, it will give weight not only to the
a postal regulation that prohibited open
evolution in American law with respect to
carry in the parking lot of a rural post office.
recognizing carry rights at the state level, but
Finally, in Peruta v. County of San Diego
also to the rich nineteenth century history
(2014), a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit
of the individual right to arms, which the
adopted what I think is precisely the right
Heller Court embraced and affirmed.
Professor O’Shea’s article Modeling the Second Amendment Right to Carry Arms (I): Judicial Tradition and the Scope of “Bearing Arms” for Self Defense (61 Am. U.L.Rev. 585 2012) was cited twice by Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain and the majority in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit case of Edward Peruata v. County of San Diego.
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BY B R O O K A R B E I T M A N Director of Marketing and Communications
Freedom Fighters The Oklahoma Innocence Project Seeks Exonerations in Two Cases
F
REEDOM IS DEFINED as “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.” For most of us who have the luxury to enjoy freedom day in and day out, it probably is not something we think much about. But can you imagine your freedom being taken away? Can you imagine being convicted of a crime you didn’t commit?
2014? That is not the way you would think a convicted murderer would — or should — act. But, Michael Wilson was just
1,000
that as he confessed on tape to
TOTAL REQUESTS
drive-by shooting that left one
(as of May 2014)
being the triggerman in a 1994 woman dead and three others injured. Why, you ask? Why would
183 AWAITING REVIEW
he confess now as the clock ticked down to his last breath? Because Wilson knew Malcolm was innocent. On the taped
433
confession to the Oklahoma
place you imagined is their reality. Both are in prison convicted of murder. Both did not
CLOSED
said one thing he could do before
For Malcolm Scott and Karl Fontenot this
going to his grave was to tell
have any involvement in the crime for which they have been convicted. Both have been locked up for longer than they were ever free. MALCOLM SCOTT Malcolm Scott was 18 when he was convicted of murder. He has spent the past 20 years locked away. But the last words of a convicted murderer could be the break Malcolm has been waiting for. When you watch the taped interview of Michael Wilson, you are left feeling perplexed. How can someone convicted of a terrible
Innocence Project (OIP) Wilson
18
the truth. Wilson admitted he
UNDER INVESTIGATION
shooting that September night
284 IN REVIEW
82 REVIEWED (awaiting assignment)
was the triggerman in the in Tulsa. Not Malcolm. With Wilson taking responsibility for his crime, Malcolm’s OIP attorney knew there was finally enough evidence to file his petition for post-conviction relief. There is a fire in Malcolm that pushes him to be a better man. To acquire skills. To learn. To grow.
crime be so polite, relaxed, even calm just days
Malcolm believes he will one day
before his scheduled execution in January
have the chance to clear his name,
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and when that happens, he wants to be an active participant in society. He wants to work hard, pay taxes and live free.
are people who sat in jail while the
KARL FONTENOT
2013 was a record-breaking year for exoner-
Community Leader, Activist, Servant
He is slight in stature and soft-spoken, with a heavy southeastern Oklahoma drawl. When you meet him for the first time, you are struck by his pleasant demeanor and perfect manners — he will call you “ma’am” even if it is not your preference. Pushing 50, his salt and pepper hair is slightly unkempt, and his mustache a little bushy. He is unintimidating. Not quite optimistic, not quite trusting, and yet he remains a little hopeful.
ations, an unfortunate statistic considering
2L 2014-2015
our system of justice is the envy of the
HOMETOWN:
Karl Fontenot was convicted of the murder, robbery and kidnapping of a female convenience store clerk from Ada, OK, in 1984. He is currently serving life. Karl is definitely not what you expect when you meet a convicted murderer. But, then again, Karl is unyielding in his claim of innocence. It is tedious work — trying to prove that Malcolm and Karl are innocent. It takes manpower, time, money and patience. Patience is often the hardest part when you know your client was wrongfully convicted. ROLL CALL
true perpetrator lived free. These are people like Malcolm and Karl.
world. But this reality drives the dedicated
... people who were convicted of a crime they didn’t commit. Whether DNA evidence proves their innocence, or a witness admits they made a mistake, or any number of other reasons, these are people who sat in jail while the true perpetrator lived free. These are people like Malcolm and Karl.
The Innocence Network hosts an annual conference for those working in the innocence movement and the people they have exonerated. Every year, new names are added to the list of those who have regained their freedom. The names are announced during “Roll Call” — a moving ceremony of sorts that is a tearful and triumphant celebration. Bennie Starks… Kristine Bunch… George Allen… a few of the 31 people from across the country who were freed in 2013 and announced during Roll Call at the 2014 Conference. These are people who were convicted of a crime they didn’t commit. Whether DNA evidence proves their innocence, or a witness admits they made a mistake, or any number of other reasons, these
and passionate staff at the Oklahoma Innocence Project as they work tirelessly on behalf of Malcolm and Karl so that one day their names will ring out during Roll Call. And they will once again be free.
The Oklahoma Innocence Project does not charge for its services. The Project is funded solely from private donations. If you would like to help, you can make a tax-free donation online at innocence.okcu.edu and click donate.
ST U DENT PROFILE
Telana McCullough
Lived in 6 different cities before age of 16 UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
University of Central Oklahoma MAJOR:
Sociology PUBLIC SERVICE:
Spent time in Washington DC, New York City, Dallas, Chicago, Manila, Philippines and even lived in a homeless shelter for a summer.
“Public Service has been my focus from a young age because of the example my parents set for me. [They] planted seeds inside of me that were nurtured by my faith and a call to look out for those whose voices often go unheard because they lack financial and social power.”
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Alumni Profile:
Alma Faye Posey Washington Class of 1984
T
HERE IS MUCH BUZZ in the media these days about women in the work force. Should they “lean in”? Should we “ban bossy”? Can today’s woman really “have it all”? These are questions that come to mind as we reflect upon the life of attorney Alma Faye Posey Washington of Oklahoma City who passed away last summer after a five-year battle with cancer. Ms. Posey Washington didn’t approach “having it all” as an overt personal strategy; rather she lived her life in such a way that she was active and impactful in numerous facets in the community of law professionals, but also in the larger community of Oklahoma City, all while nurturing her family. Ms. Posey Washington didn’t come to law just out of college. By the time she arrived at Oklahoma City University School of Law at age 40, she had led a full and complex life as an elementary school teacher. An Oklahoma City native, her roots in the community ran deep. As a teenager, she was one of the original thirteen participants in the Oklahoma City sit-ins. Under the direction of Clara Luper of the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council, Ms. Posey Washington, her sister Barbara, and eleven other young people sat at the lunch counter of Katz Drug Store and ordered Cokes. Safe from the vantage
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BY TAYA R I J O N E S
point of 2014, it is difficult to conceive of the incredible bravery required to perform this simple act: “We would like to have Cokes, please.” This was in 1958, two years before the more well-known sit-in demonstrations in Greensboro,
“We would like to have Cokes, please.” North Carolina. The young demonstrators had no idea how the city would react to their defiance. They feared imprisonment, or worse. Ultimately, they were not jailed, but they were faced with vicious name-calling and heckling. Eye witnesses report that in the face of this hostility, 17-year-old Alma Faye is said to have laughed in their faces, and stood her ground. After her first year at Central State College (now UCO) Alma Faye married Booker T. Washington, Jr. and soon became the mother of three “stair-step” sons — Booker III (Trey), Alan and Weldon. Still, she completed her bachelor’s degree and began her teaching career where she thrived for twenty years. Even after she left the classroom for the law, she would often be stopped on the streets by former students who remembered the care and kindness she extended to them when they were children. When she enrolled in law school at Oklahoma City University, she was a single mother and a full-time teacher who took classes in the evening. She graduated in the class of 1984 and was admitted to the Bar of the State of Oklahoma. Soon afterwards, she set up her law practice. As a lawyer, Ms. Posey Washington used her skills to help those most in need. She was a generalist, the legal professional’s equivalent of
Clockwise from top left: Alma Faye (third from left) ordering a coke at Katz Drug Store (1958); Barbara and Alma Faye in junior usher uniforms at 5th Street Baptist Church (1956); Pictured with sons Weldon (left), Alan (center) and Trey (right); Joining friend Willie Rogers for a gala; Alma Faye’s Millwood Schools picture.
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an old-time family doctor — making house calls, sometimes bartering her services when clients couldn’t pay. She served as Legal Counsel to Fifth Street Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, where she had been baptized as a little girl. Later in her career,
Faye Posey Washington did, in fact, have it all. She may not have been what Sheryl Sandberg had in mind when she urged women to “lean in,” but she understood what it meant to “pitch in.” Ms. Posey Washington gave her all to her family, her
most of her practice was in adoptions where she worked tirelessly to mend broken families. Friends and family often
Throughout her life, Ms. Posey Washington led by example, demonstrating a masterful balancing act. As a teenager, she was both activist and homecoming queen. In college, she was a popular sorority girl, while also being a wife and mother. While in law school, she was student and a teacher. While beginning her law career she was simultaneously rising in the ranks of her sorority (Zeta Phi Beta), eventually serving on the national board as phylacter and trustee. In some ways, she was like a juggler who never set down one role to take on another. Instead, she added new balls and managed to keep them all in the air.
Friends and family often turned to her for guidance, and she would say, “Do you want legal advice or common sense?” and served a generous helping of both.
turned to her for guidance, and she would say, “Do you want legal advice or common sense?” and served a generous helping of both. Looking back on the trajectory of her life and career, it is clear that Alma
community and her careers. Her journey wasn’t without challenges, and she moved in fits and starts, but she always moved forward. And with every milestone she crossed, she benefitted someone else.
Left to Right: Speaking at a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority convention; Alma Faye, cousin Marion Martin (left) and sister Barbara (center) at Clara Luper’s memorial service.
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Tayari Jones is the author of three novels, most recently Silver Sparrow. An Associate Professor of English at RutgersNewark University, her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Alma Faye Posey Washington was her favorite aunt.
JAMES BORING was appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma to serve on the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Commission. Boring is the district attorney for Cimarron, Texas, Beaver and Harper counties (OK). DIETMAR K. CAUDLE served the Oklahoma Bar Association as the 2013 vice president. Judge MATTHEW HENRY retired from the bench after serving the people of Pawnee and Osage Counties (OK) for more than 18 years. Class representative(s): Dietmar Caudle
RICHARD COCHRAN Jr. was named the Waurika, OK City Attorney in December 2013. STEPHEN E. REEL was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials. Reel is the City Attorney for The Village, OK. DON POPE wrote an article for the Oklahoma Bar Association titled Changing the Face of Law Office Marketing (Vol. 84, No. 8). Class representative(s): Jane Wheeler & Daniel Woska
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D. SCOTT COLBERT was named interim Gaming Commissioner for the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. GINA HENDRYX authored Russian Law School Makes Special Appearance at Oklahoma Bar Center for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 27). She also authored Procedures for Out-of-State Attorney Registration for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 11). Hendryx is General Counsel for the Oklahoma Bar Association. PHILLIP TUCKER was included in the Oklahoman’s coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. His wife Noel ’96 was running in the race and was unharmed in the blast.
CARL ALEXANDRE was appointed Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a post ranked at the Assistant Secretary-General level. VICKI Z. BEHENNA joined the Oklahoma City firm of Crowe & Dunlevy as a Director after she retired from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma. Behenna was also honored with the Distinguished Law Alumna Award at Oklahoma City University School of Law 2013 Annual Awards & Reunion Gala. KEITH R. GIBSON spoke at the National Solid Waste Management Association Annual Meeting. Judge BARBARA HATFIELD authored Pilot Program Applying Mediation to Domestic Litigation for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 85, No. 5). FLAVIOUS SMITH Jr. was named the Chief Oil & Gas Officer at Forestar Group Inc. in Austin, Texas.
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GAYLE L. BARRETT was chosen by Super Lawyers as one of their Top 25: 2013 Women Oklahoma Super Lawyers. She is a Director at the Oklahoma City firm of Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. RICHARD GORALEWICZ authored Gideon’s Children – Not Just in Criminal Law for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 14). NANCY PARROTT serves as a Member at Large for the 2014 Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Directors. T. DOUGLAS STUMP was installed as the 2013-2014 President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in June 2013. In October, he was the guest speaker at the 3rd annual Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Conference. Stump also spoke at the 2014 Rome District Chapter AILA Spring Conference in Athens, Greece and the 2013 AILA Chapter Conference in Poland.
MICHAEL C. MORDY was elected to serve on Oklahoma’s Judicial Nominating Commission.
Class Representative(s): John Severe
Judge (Ret.) SPENCER KOPF wrote Making an Informed Decision for Yourself for the Dave Pear’s Independent Football Veteran’s Blog. Class representative(s): Buddy Neal
MICKEY EDWARDS spoke at the University of Oklahoma’s President's Associates dinner in November 2013.
Justice YVONNE KAUGER, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice, was named one of OKC FRIDAY's Most Powerful Women in Oklahoma City.
GEORGE ARRINGTON received the 2013 Bobby Joe Cudd Legacy Award at the Tri-State Oil and Gas Convention in Woodward, OK.
WILLIAM F. SHDEED received the Justice Marian P. Opala Award for Lifetime Achievement in Law at Oklahoma City University School of Law’s 2013 Annual Awards & Reunion Gala.
Class Representatives: Judge (Ret.) Ron Howland, Dick Duggar, Larry Cassil & Charles Hunnicutt
STEVE A. COLEMAN was recognized by the Oklahoma Bar Association as a “Lawyer Who Makes a Difference.” GAYLE FREEMAN COOK was named one of the 2013 Mona Salyer Lambird Spotlight Award Recipients by the Oklahoma Bar Association Women in Law Committee. M. JOE CROSTHWAIT Jr. received the Oklahoma County Bar Association’s 2013 Bobby G. Knapp Leadership Award. He also co-authored When Wills and Trusts are Challenged; For Love or Money: When is Influence Due and Undue? in the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 14). GARVIN A. ISAACS Jr. presented Final Argument: Showing Jurors How They Protect Their Future at the 2013 Bob Chaloupka Trial Skills Seminar November 14 and 15, 2013 in Scottsbluff, NE. Judge WELDON STOUT was named a Special District Judge in Muskogee County, OK. Class representative(s): Joe Crosthwait, Joe Edwards & Gary Homsey
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CATHY CHRISTENSEN received the 2013 Oklahoma Supreme Court Sovereignty Symposium Award. RAND C. EDDY joined the Oklahoma City firm of Mulinex Ogden Hall & Ludlan PLLC as Of Counsel. ALBERT J. HOCH Jr. received the Fern Holland Courageous Lawyer Award at the 2013 Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Awards. Class Representative(s): Cathy Christensen
GEORGE BURNETT was named the chief of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Workers' Compensation, Insurance, and Social Security Fraud Unit. DAVID H. DOBSON was named Of Counsel for the Oklahoma City firm of Andrews Davis. RICHARD LEE SLATER was hired as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.
CYNTHIA J. CLINE was admitted to practice law before the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. DONNA J. JACKSON was awarded the Earl Sneed Continuing Legal Education Award at the 2013 Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Awards. MORRIS PURCELL presented a seminar on Florida's stand your ground law at the Center for Public Safety Innovation in October 2013. Class Representative(s): Donna Jackson, Debra Tourtelotte Thomas & Jan Preece Gaddis
ROBERT GRAY was named Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America’s Eagle District in Edmond, OK. JOHN HENRICHS was selected as one of the top rated lawyers in Southern California for 2013. Judge SUSAN K. JOHNSON was appointed an Oklahoma County Special Judge in March 2013. Johnson is a former prosecutor with the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, Oklahoma Attorney General and the City of Oklahoma City. ELAINE R. TURNER was chosen by Super Lawyers as one of their Top 25: 2013 Women Oklahoma Super Lawyers. Turner is a Shareholder at the Oklahoma City office of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. Class Representative(s): Judge Lynne McGuire & Shannon Davies
BROOKS DOUGLASS was the keynote speaker at the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara (CA) For the Kids Breakfast. REBECCA L. THOMPSON joined the Oklahoma City branch of Kirkpatrick Bank as an Assistant Vice President and Director of Compliance. Class Representative(s): Tina Hughes, Cary Pirrong, Amie Colclazier & Jerry Colclazier
ANGELITA AUNKO HAMILTON was selected to be an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in Valporaiso, IN. Class Representative(s): Michelle Johnson
JAMES P. BUCKLEY joined the Bothwell Regional Health Center Foundation (Sedalia, MO) as a board member. KEVIN FREEMAN was promoted to lead attorney at Alliant Energy Corporate Services in Madison, WI. Class Representative(s): George Milner
LESLIE LYNCH was chosen by Super Lawyers as one of their Top 25: 2013 Women Oklahoma Super Lawyers. Lynch also coached the Oklahoma City University School of Law 2013-2014 American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Advocacy Team to a second place finish in the New York regional. Class Representative(s): Leslie Lynch, Kim Spady & Rochelle Guinn
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LISA OZAETA was named Senior Manager of ECG Management Consultants, Inc. Ozaeta is in the San Francisco, CA office. NOEL TUCKER was included in the Oklahoman article Bombing: Scary Moments in Boston. Tucker had nearly completed the marathon when the first bomb exploded.
TODD A. LARD rejoined the Washington, D.C. firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, LLP as a Partner. During his previous tenure, Lard worked in Sutherland’s State and Local Tax (SALT) practice. ANN ROBERTS became the Willcox City, AZ City Attorney in 2013. She had been serving as interim city attorney for a year. Class Representative(s): Toby McKinstry & Keri Prince
1994
AMIR FARZANEH co-presented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, What Does It Mean for Employers to human resources professionals at the Farzaneh Law Firm. CHRISTOPHER A. MONSEY was recognized by the Department of Defense for his outstanding accomplishments and contributions to Technology Transfer (T2) initiatives. Monsey is an intellectual property attorney at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC).
ERIC L. JOHNSON joined Hudson Cook LLP as a Partner establishing the firm’s Oklahoma City office. JAMES ROTH was elected a Director by the Phillips Murrah law firm Shareholders. He was also featured in a February 2014 Slice Magazine article titled Jim Roth: Authentically Original. In Slice Magazine’s 2013 Best in Central Oklahoma, Roth came in second place in the Non-politician You’d Like to Vote into Office category. (He came in behind Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne.) SCOTT ROWLAND received the 2013 award for outstanding prosecutor from the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association. Rowland also authored An Overview of Recent Changes in the Miranda Doctrine and the Rights to Counsel and Silence for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 21). Class Representative(s): Cindy Andrews & Laura Beckman Hedge
Judge LaRONNA WILLIAMS HARRIS was named Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration in Huntington, WV. Judge NIKKI LEACH was appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma as an Associate District Judge for Noble County, OK.
WE WANT YOU! We are asking alumni from each class to volunteer to be their class’ representative. What does a class rep do, you ask? Simply put, we need your help communicating to your class about events and opportunities at the law school, as well as help collecting updated records and alumni news. If you are interested in being a class representative, please contact Keri Williams Foster at 405.208.7102 or kgfoster@okcu.edu.
1995
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1997
MITCHELL McCARTHY joined the Oklahoma City firm of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. as Of Counsel in their intellectual property practice. SONJA R. PORTER authored DUI Law: A Trial of Tests for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 21). COURTNEY WARMINGTON was named General Counsel for the Oklahoma Human Resource Society (OKHR) in 2014. She presented Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: The Top 4 Employment Law Issues of 2013 at the Oklahoma Human Resources Conference in Norman, OK in May 2013. Class Representative(s): Courtney Warmington & Sonja Porter
STEPHEN P. ALCORN resigned as Special Judge in Oklahoma County District Court to become the Montrose, CO City Attorney. SHANNON HAUPT was named the Compliance Officer at the University of Arkansas Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance in September 2013. Class Representative(s): Angela Crisp Sardelli, Keri Williams Foster, Larry Harden, Charles Weddle & Christina Reynolds
JOHN DOUGLAS DUNIVAN opened a new practice in Perry, OK with fellow Alum Bryon J. Will ‘08. PHILIP D. HIXON joined the Tulsa office of GableGotwals as Of Counsel. STEPHANIE LIEBL HUBER was honored along with nine other student-athletes at the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma’s (USAO) 40th Anniversary for Athletics. O. JOSEPH WILLIAMS authored The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 and Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Over Non-Indians for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 21). He also became the Chief Justice of the Sac & Fox (OK) Supreme Court. Class Representative(s): Sarah Glick, Suzanne Shiff Paulson, Beau Patterson & Amy White
EUGENE BERTMAN authored Tribal Appellate Courts: A Practical Guide to History and Practice for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 27). JENNIFER HEALD CASTILLO received the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award at the 2013 Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Awards. TERRENCE WILLIAM MANIGAULT was included in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) prestigious Airmen Certification Database. The database names certified pilots who have met or exceeded the high educational, licensing and medical standards established by the FAA. GREGORY METCALFE was named a Shareholder at the Oklahoma City firm of GableGotwals in February 2014. JACQUELINE JO PERRIN joined Steidley & Neal in McAlester, OK as an Associate. NANCY POTTER joined the firm of Love, Beal & Nixon PC. PAUL ROSS presented Government Gone Wild at EmployerLINC2013, an annual daylong seminar hosted by McAfee & Taft focusing on labor, employment and employee benefits. ROE SIMMONS announced the formation of Herring Simmons, LLC, a full service law firm in Edmond, OK. KARA I. SMITH wrote Diversity: What Does it Mean and Why Does it Matter? for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 33). Class Representative(s): Jennifer Castillo, Shanda McKenney & Courtney Davis Powell
MATTHEW BLUE was selected by his peers to receive the Oklahoma County Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Director Award for 2013. MELISSA HANDKE joined the Frederick, OK law firm of Massad, Evans & Kent, P.L.L.C. as an Associate. C. SCOTT LOFTIS was selected by Super Lawyers as a 2013 Rising Star. He owns the Loftis Law Firm in Ponca City, OK. AMER MAHMUD authored the article Mercenarism: Alive and Well published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 11). He also participated on a panel during the Mass Atrocity Education Workshop at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in May 2013. Major Mahmud is currently assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy where he teaches international law and the law of armed conflict. In May 2014 he was awarded the Outstanding United States Air Force Academy Educator Award for the Department of Law. BRECKEN A. WAGNER opened the Wagner and Lynch law offices in McAlester and Wilburton, OK. Class Representative(s): Linda Byford, David Deal, Rick Rose & Casey Ross-Petherick
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
TODD LAMB, Oklahoma Lt. Governor, was named vice chairman of the Republican Lt. Governors Association in November 2013. In July 2013, he was named to a one-year term as chairman of the National Lt. Governors Association. Lt. Governor Lamb also continues to serve as vice chair of the Aerospace States Association. TIMOTHY J. SYNAR joined M.K. Bailey Law Offices in Oklahoma City as Of Counsel. JOBI TEAGUE was elected by the Marked Tree, AR City Council as the new city attorney in November 2013. TIMOTHY WESTON was named Attorney-Advisor for the Office of Inspection at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Weston joined TSA in January 2012. Class Representative(s): Tynan Grayson & Ashley Murphy
DALLAS BARRINGTON was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Barrington is an assistant district attorney in the Hardin County (TX) District Attorney’s Office. REGAN S. BEATTY joined the staff at Oklahoma City University School of Law as Pro Bono & Public Interest Law Coordinator in the Law Career Services Office. She also authored Access to the Bankruptcy Courts: The In Forma Pauperis Provision for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 85, No. 11). TANYA S. BRYANT was selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma City Human Resource Society as General Counsel. Bryant is a Director in the Oklahoma City office of Crowe & Dunlevy. MYKEL FRY was named to the executive committee of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units in October 2013. She represents Oklahoma and eight other states from the central region on the board. Fry is an assistant attorney general in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. BRANDON LONG was elected a Shareholder at McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City. T.W. SHANNON, Oklahoma Speaker of the House, received the Young Alumnus Award at Oklahoma City University School of Law’s 2013 Annual Awards & Reunion Gala. He received the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Council of Presidents. Shannon was named one of the Republican National Committee’s Rising Stars in August 2013. Shannon was highlighted in the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education in March 2013. He delivered commencement addresses at several Oklahoma universities including Langston University, Cameron University and Oklahoma Baptist University. JASON SMITH was elected to the U.S. Congress from the 8th District in Missouri in a June 2013 Special Election. He was also named a 2013 Honorary Knight of St. Patrick by the St. Pat’s Celebration Committee at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Class Representative(s): Bobby Faulk, Brandon Long, Grant Sexton, Regan Strickland Beatty & Lindsey Willis-Andrews
ROBERT C. GREENE was elected to serve as the Warren County (PA) District Attorney. Judge ARTURO McDONALD Jr. won a third term as the Cameron County (TX) Court At Law No. 1 judge in March 2014. ELIZABETH PERROW served as President of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys. She was also named in Super Lawyers and in Best Lawyers in America. She is a Principal at Woods Rogers in their Roanoke, VA office. Class Representative(s): Christin Adkins, Steve Duplissis & Vinay Patel
1998
2005
ERIC CAVETT was recognized by the Oklahoma Bar Journal as a “Lawyer Who Makes a Difference.” He also was selected as a 2013 Oklahoma Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Cavett is an attorney at Foshee & Yaffe in Oklahoma City. JODI C. COLE joined the Oklahoma City office of McAfee & Taft as an Associate. STEVEN FOSTER presented Innovating in ASP: Collaboratively Designing Quality ASP Sessions from Goals to Assessment at the Southwestern Consortium of Academic Support Professionals (SWCASP) annual conference in March 2013. This was the inaugural SWCASP conference and it was hosted by Oklahoma City University School of Law where Foster is Director of Academic Achievement. He also presented Getting Students into Bar Prep Programs at the SWCASP annual conference in March 2014 and Take State! How Sports Coaching Techniques Can Improve Teaching and Bar Passage Rates at the Association of Academic Support Educators 2013 Annual Conference in May 2013. JOHN HIPSKIND joined the Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. law firm in the Belleville, IL office. THOMAS ISHMAEL joined AT&T as Senior Attorney in Oklahoma City. MELANY KYZER was named the Chief Academic Officer at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) in Bethany, OK. Prior to her selection as the Chief Academic Officer in July 2013, Kyzer served as the Dean of the College of Humanities. She is a 28-year member of the SNU campus community. JENNIFER O'STEEN became the first full-time City Attorney for the city of Ardmore, OK. She began her new post in January 2014. RACHEL SHEPHARD joined Pierce, Couch, Hendrickson, Baysinger & Green as an Associate. REGINALD O. SMITH was promoted to the rank of Commander, U.S. Public Health Service in Maryland. He works in the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. JASON TAPP joined the Willis Law Group as an Associate in their Dallas, TX office. COLLIN WALKE joined Mulinix Ogden Hall & Ludlam PLLC as an Associate in Oklahoma City. He also authored Four Rules for the Record in Family Law Cases for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 27). BRYON J. WILL opened a new practice in Perry, OK with fellow alum John Douglas Dunivan ‘01. He is serving as the 2014 Treasurer of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. He will complete his term as a District Three Representative for the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division in December 2014. Class Representative(s): Jodi Cole, Whitney Byrd, Chris Papin, Lindsey Rames & Greg Winningham
NICHOLAS HARROZ III was named chairman of the board of directors for Epworth Villa, a faith-based senior retirement community in Oklahoma City. ANDREW RINEHART was elected to the Tazewell County (IL) Board for District 3. LAURA SOPHER married Daniel Eilers at the Iowa State Alumni Center in Ames. LAWRENCE TRAUTMAN authored Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: An Update on Enforcement and SEC and DOJ Guidance published in the fall 2013 Securities Regulation Law Journal. Class Representative(s): Michael Cooper, Christin Jeffrey Jones & Tara Lemmon
JOHN PAUL CANNON authored Baxter a 'Warranted' New Frontier for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 21). JIMMY OLIVER authored What Should I Do with the Transcript Money? published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 33). JOSHUA SNAVELY was named co-chair for the Homeland and National Security Committee for the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. He was also selected as a 2014 Journal Record Achiever Under 40. In May 2013, Snavely completed his LL.M. in National Security & U.S. Foreign Relations Law at The George Washington University Law School. Class Representative(s): Lori McConnell, Josh Snavely & Bria Winston
DUSTIN CONNER is serving as the District Four Representative for the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. His term will expire in December 2015. LEEANNA COVINGTON joined the Oklahoma Farm Bureau public policy department as the Director of National Affairs in July 2013. ZACHARY J. FOSTER joined the Oklahoma City firm of Mahaffey & Gore as an Associate. JANA KNOTT was cited in a Certiorari Petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Knott’s Oklahoma City University Law Review Note Is There an App for That? Reexamining the Doctrine of Search Incident to Lawful Arrest in the Contest of Cell Phones (35 Okla. City U.L. Rev. 2010) is listed as an authority and is cited in endnote 11 of the Petition. Knott is the Staff Attorney for Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich. Class Representative(s): Lorenzo Banks, Adam Christensen, Patrick Lane & Nichole Moisant
GLENN KATHLEEN BROWN joined the Oklahoma City law firm of Helms & Underwood as an Associate. TIECE DEMPSEY became a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Vicki Miles-LeGrange, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. CALEB M. GNAGE joined the Warren County (PA) District Attorney’s Office as First Assistant District Attorney. PENNY OLESON joined Xcel Energy’s Nuclear Regulatory Affairs and Licensing office. WILLIAM R. PACE joined Mulinix Ogden Hall & Ludlan PLLC as an Associate in Oklahoma City. Class Representative(s): Mandy Waite, Alisha Mehroff & Rob Henderson
ANDREW HARLOW was promoted to Vice President and Senior Trust Officer at Citizens Bank and Trust in Ardmore, OK. LEANNE McGILL is the 2014 chair-elect of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. JUSTIN MEEK is serving on the 2014 Oklahoma Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Board of Directors as an At-Large Representative. His term will expire in December 2015. ELISABETH MUCKALA was elected a Shareholder at Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. in Oklahoma City. TODD PAULEY was appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma to serve on the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. Pauley is the Senior Advisor/Business and Community Liaison to Oklahoma Congressman James Lankford. FAYE RODGERS is serving as a 2014 District Three Representative for the Oklahoma Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division. Her term will expire in December 2015. KELLI STUMP participated in a panel discussion titled Ensuring a Smooth Course: Review of Best Practices Before the Immigration Court at the 16th Annual American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium in December 2013. MATTHEW D. STUMP serves as vice chair of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Vermont Service Center (VSC) Liaison Committee on behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). He also participated on a panel at the 2013 AILA Annual Conference on Immigration Law titled Labor Certification 102: Recruitment. JAHNI S. TAPLEY was appointed to the Carl Albert State College Board of Regents by the Governor of Oklahoma in the fall of 2013. Class Representative(s): Leanne McGill, Pat Podolec & Pete Serrata
EMILY E. CAMPBELL has been named to the University of Oklahoma's College of Engineering Industrial & Systems Engineering Advisory Board. She was also selected as a 2013 Oklahoma Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Campbell is an Associate at the Oklahoma City firm of Dunlap Codding. DUSTIN S. PHILLIPS was selected as one of National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. He was also selected as a 2013 Oklahoma Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Phillips is the founder of the Oklahoma City firm of Phillips & Associates. NATHAN RICHTER is serving as an At-Large Rural Representative for the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. His term expires in December 2015. Class Representative(s): Kendra Robben Lewis, Andy Schroeder & Leah Avey
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Alumni listed in 2013 Best Lawyers in America 1968 Timothy Larason, Andrews Davis, P.C. 1972 Bill McCarthy, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. 1974 Joe Edwards, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1975 David Pepper, Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, LLP 1976 Philip Sears, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1977 William Johnson, Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, LLP 1978 Richard Propester, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1978 Michael Smith, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. 1979 Robert O’Bannon, Phillips Murrah P.C. 1979 Robert Sheets, Phillips Murrah P.C. 1982 Gayle L. Barrett, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1982 Ross Plourde, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1982 T. Douglas Stump, Stump & Associates, P.C. 1983 Timothy Martin, Durbin, Larimore & Bialick, P.C. 1990 Fred Leibrock, Phillips Murrah P.C.
1993 Leslie Lynch, GableGotwals 1994 Cynthia Andrews, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1994 Bradley Donnell, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1994 Michael LaBrie, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1995 Amir Farzaneh, Farzaneh Law Firm PC 1998 Michael McClintock, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1999 Patricia Rogers, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1999 Courtney Warmington, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 2000 Robert Haupt, National Litigation Law Group, PLLC 2001 Juston Givens, Phillips Murrah, P.C. 2002 Mark Malone, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 2002 Paul Ross, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 2003 Jennifer Ivester Berry, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 2003 Jennifer Miller Ventura, Phillips Murrah, P.C. 2006 Kelli Stump, Stump & Associates, P.C.
BEST ATTORNEY 1995: Randall McCarthy, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C.
Please email your news to lawnews@okcu.edu with “Class Action” in the subject line. Be sure to include your graduation year. ADENIKE ADEBAYO joined the law offices of Martin del Mazo in Liburn, GA as a contract attorney. She was also chosen by Bella Naija for their “Celebrating You! Class of 2013,” which honors students who excelled in their course of study. BENJAMIN BOWERS joined the Enid, OK firm of Gungoll Jackson Box & Devoll, P.C. as an Associate. SHANIKA CHAPMAN joined the Oklahoma City firm of Tomlinson, Rust, McKinstry & Grable. JACK COPPEDGE III joined the Carter County, OK District Attorney’s Office. ELIZABETH E. LAUDERBACK joined Dunlap Codding in Oklahoma City as an Associate. BRAD MADORE joined Hartzog Conger Cason and Neville, LLP in Oklahoma City as an Associate. HAYLEY V. POTTS opened her own firm, the Potts Law Office, PLLC in Oklahoma City. CRAIG THOMPSON joined the Edmond, OK firm of Winton Law as an Associate. He also wrote Law School Graduation Just the Beginning for the Oklahoma Bar Journal (Vol. 84, No. 14). Class Representative(s): Ande Burchfield
We welcome photos (high resolution) but due to space we cannot guarantee publication.
2013
Alumni listed in Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2013 1961 John A. Philbin, Speck Philbin, APC 1966 James C. Bass, Bass Law (El Reno) 1968 Timothy Larason, Andrews Davis, P.C. 1970 Gary C. Bachman, Holloway, Dobson & Bachman, PLLC 1971 William R. Cathcart, Cathcart & Dooley, P.C. 1972 Jack S. Dawson, Miller Dollarhide, P.C. 1973 Stephen G. Fabian Jr., Fabian and Associates, Inc. P.C. 1973 Larry M. Spears, Larry M. Spears Law Office 1974 John W. Coyle III, Coyle Law Firm 1974 Joe E. Edwards, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1974 Gary B. Homsey, Homsey, Cooper, Hill & Carson 1974 Garvin A. Isaacs, Garvin A. Issacs, Inc. 1974 Robert C. Margo, Law Office of Robert C. Margo, PLLC 1974 James W. Vogt, Reynolds, Ridings, Vogt & McCart 1975 J. Angela Ables, Kerr, Irvine, Rhodes & Ables, P.C. 1975 Jerry D. Balentine, Jerry D. Balentine, P.C. & Associates 1975 John A. Bass, Bass Law (El Reno) 1975 G. David Bryant, Phillips Murrah, P.C. 1975 Jerry L. McCombs, Jerry L. McCombs, P.C. (Idabel) 1975 Charles “Buddy” Neal Jr., Steidley & Neal, PLLC (McAlester) 1975 David Pepper, Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, LLP 1975 Christopher D. Szlichta, Szlichta and Ramsey, APC (Stillwater) 1975 Robert D. Tomlinson, Tomlinson Rust McKinstry Grable 1976 Mark E. Hammons Sr., Hammons, Gowens, Hurst & Associates 1976 Cheryl A. Ramsey, Szlichta and Ramsey, APC (Stillwater) 1976 Bob Ravitz, Office of the Public Defender 1976 Jesse J. Worten III, Brewer, Worten, Robinett (Pawhuska) 1977 Kevin Blaney, Blaney & Tweedy, PLLC 1977 Michael L. Darrah, Durbin, Larimore & Bialick, P.C. 1977 Glenn A. Devoll, Gungoll, Jackson, Box & Devoll, P.C. (Enid) 1977 William A. Johnson, Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, LLP 1977 Philard L. Rounds Jr., Coffey, Gudgel & McDaniel, PLLC (Tulsa) 1977 Daniel K. Zorn, Collins, Zorn & Wagner, P.C. 1978 Kraettli Q. Epperson, Mee Mee Hoge & Epperson, PLLP 1978 Mack Martin, Martin Law Offices 1978 Leonard I. Pataki, Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, LLP 1978 Richard P. Propester, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1979 David W. Echols, Echols & Associates 1979 M. Eileen Echols, Echols & Associates 1979 Robert O’Bannon, Phillips Murrah, P.C. 1979 Karen L. Long, Rosenstein Fist & Ringold (Tulsa) 1979 Robert Sheets, Phillips Murrah, P.C. 1980 Bradley A. Gungoll, Gungoll, Jackson, Box & Devoll, P.C. 1980 G. Neal Rogers, G. Neal Rogers, P.C. 1981 Cary E. Hiltgen, Hiltgen & Brewer, P.C. 1982 Gayle L. Barrett, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1982 Emmanuel E. Edem, Norman & Edem, PLLC 1982 Douglas N. Gould, Douglas N. Gould, PLC 1982 Ross A. Plourde, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1982 T. Douglas Stump, Stump & Associates 1983 Allen Campbell, Kirk & Chaney 1983 Timothy L. Martin, Looney, Nichols & Johnson 1983 Phillip J. Tucker, Tucker Law Firm (Edmond) 1984 Peter M. Dobelbower, Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. 1984 Richard E. Hornbeek, Hornbeek Vitall & Braun, PLLC 1984 Kevin E. Krahl, Fuller Tubb Bickford & Krahl
1984 John E. Vitali, Hornbeek Vitali & Braun, PLLC 1985 Steven Huddleston, Huddleston, Pike and Associates 1985 R. Trent Pipes, Dunlap Codding, P.C. 1986 Joseph T. Acquaviva Jr., Wilson, Cain & Acquaviva 1986 Cathy M. Christensen, Cathy Christensen & Associates, P.C. 1986 Rand C. Eddy, Eddy Law Firm, P.C. 1986 George Gibbs, Gibbs Armstrong Borochoff Mullican & Hart, P.C. (Tulsa) 1987 Victor F. Albert, Conner & Winters, LLP 1987 Lee Slater, Lee Slater Attorney at Law 1987 Hilton H. Walters, Rife Walters Stanley & Natarajan, LLP 1988 Derek K. Burch, Burch, George & Germany, P.C. 1988 Gary J. James, Gary J. James & Assocaites, P.C. 1988 Richard E. Smalley III, Smalley Law Firm (Norman) 1989 Michael M. Blue, Blue Law 1989 Shannon F. Davies, Lester, Loving & Davies, P.C. 1989 Guy A. Thiessen, Carr & Carr, Attorneys at Law (Tulsa) 1989 Elaine R. Turner, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. 1990 Mark H. Bennett, Conner & Winters, LLP 1990 Randall K. Calvert, Calvert Law Firm 1990 Fred Leibrock, Phillips Murrah, P.C. 1990 Heather Johnson Mitchell, Clark & Mitchell, P.C. 1990 Cara S. Nicklas, McAlister & McAlister Law Firm, P.C. (Edmond) 1990 David L. Nunn, David L. Nunn, P.C. 1992 Kevin E. Hill, Homsey, Cooper, Hill & Carson 1993 Leslie Lynch, GableGotwals 1993 Richard R. Rice, Rice & Reneau (Midwest City) 1993 J. Derrick Teague, Jennings Teague, P.C. 1994 Cynthia L. Andrews, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 1994 Eric J. Begin, McGivern & Gilliard (Tulsa) 1994 Bradley K. Donnell, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1994 Stephen L. Jantzen, Ryan Whaley Coldiron Shandy, PLLC 1994 Michael LaBrie, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1994 Brent L. Neighbors, Horton & Neighbors, P.C. 1994 Edward L. White, Edward L. White, P.C. (Edmond) 1995 Randall McCarthy, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. 1995 Jefferson I. Rust, Tomlinson Rust McKinstry Grable 1996 Margaret M. Clarke, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. (Tulsa) 1997 John E. Hunsucker, Hunsucker Legal Group, P.C. 1998 Michael D. McClintock, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1999 L. Ray Maples II, Maples Law Firm (Edmond) 1999 L. Earl Ogletree, Wiggins Sewell & Ogletree 1999 Amy J. Pierce, Corbyn Hampton, PLLC 1999 Patricia A. Rogers, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 1999 Courtney K. Warmington, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 2000 Robert J. Haupt, National Litigation Law Group, PLLC 2000 Bradley E. Norman, Norman & Edem, PLLC 2000 Armando J. Rosell, Mulinix Ogden Hall & Ludlam, PLLC 2001 Clint Russell, Taylor, Burrage, Foster, Mallett, Downs, Ramsey & Russell, P.C. (Claremore) 2002 Paul Ross, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 2003 Jennifer Ivester Berry, Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. 2004 Brandon Long, McAfee & Taft, P.C. 2005 S. Alex Yaffe, Foshee & Yaffe 2006 Justin Meek, Bass Law 2008 C. Eric Shephard, Fellers, Snider, Blakenship, Bailey & Tippens, P.C. 2009 Derek B. Ensminger, Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville, LLP
BY M I C H A E L G I B S O N Professor of Law
Forensic Science in the Courtroom 101 This spring, fourteen Oklahoma City University School of Law students got their hands on what most people just watch on television: blood-splatter charts, ballistic tests and black fly larvae.
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Students attended class together, then prepared scientific evidence for Daubert hearings, in which the law students examined and cross-examined the forensic science students.
Credit law professor and Oklahoma
“Prof. Murphy had a great idea,” said Morgan. “Our students came away with more expertise than many lawyers have. And the UCO students are a lot better for having been through realistic Daubert hearings. This wasn’t baby science — this was science with a capital ‘S’.”
ORENSIC SCIENCE in the Courtroom may be the first course of its kind in the country. Law students learned the science behind shows like CSI: Miami, and how to evaluate and present scientific evidence. They also helped students from the University of Central Oklahoma’s (UCO) Forensic Science Institute experience what it’s like to testify in front of a judge.
Innocence Project Director Tiffany Murphy. She suggested to UCO’s Dr. Dwight Adams that law students and forensic science students could learn from each other. Adams, the former director of the FBI Lab in Quantico, VA, agreed. He enlisted Professor Mark R. McCoy, as well as adjunct faculty from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Murphy pulled in Dan Morgan, the School of Law’s Norman and Edem Professor of Trial Advocacy and a veteran of a dozen murder trials.
This course helped cement future relationships, too. Morgan pointed out that future lawyers got to know their criminologists, and their experts took note of the law students they worked with. “It’s the best kind of teaching. You start passing around all the stuff you’re going to use in the courtroom, and after a while, we’re all asking questions of each other, like ‘After you’re dead, how long does it take a black fly to crawl up your nose and lay its eggs?,’ so we can figure out when you died.”
Michael Gibson has taught Contracts, Sales and Leases and Federal Courts at Oklahoma City University School of Law for 30 years. He is also the law school’s unofficial archivist: his bookshelves hold two dozen threering binders full of news clippings about alumni, faculty and staff.
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2014 QUIN LAN L ECT U RE
Katherine Quinlan (L), daughter of longtime law professor and Quinlan Lecture namesake Wayne Quinlan, visits with former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson (R).
2014 QU IN L AN L ECT U RE
Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger ’69 (L) and Dean Valerie K. Couch (R).
2 0 1 4 QU IN L AN L ECT U RE, April 23, 2014
Featuring Judith Resnik, Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School Professor Resnik’s lecture Inventing Democratic Courts was a tour of art through the lens of law, and based on her award winning book Representing Justice: Invention, Controversy, and Rights in City-States and Democratic Courtrooms (Yale University Press, 2011).
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2 0 1 4 BREN N AN L ECT U RE, January 23, 2014
Featuring Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law Ilya Somin listens to a question during his lecture NFIB v. Sebelius and the Constitutional Debate Over Federalism.
2013 A LU M NI LU NC H EO N, November 13, 2013
Skirvin Hilton, Oklahoma City Alum T. Douglas Stump ’82, President of the International Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), was the guest speaker at the 2013 Alumni Luncheon.
2013 ALUMNI LU N CHEO N
Keri Williams Foster ’00 (L), Director of Development at Oklahoma City University School of Law, shares a laugh with Judge Rick Bozarth ‘76 (R) prior to the luncheon.
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2 0 13 ALU MN I LU N CHEON
Outstanding Senior Law Student Taylor Rex Robertson ’14 (L) receives a plaque from alumna Cathy Christensen ’86 (R).
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2 0 1 3 AWARDS & REU N IO N GA L A
Marilyn Meade (L), Patsy Homsey and Anne Dalton (R).
20 1 3 AWARDS & REU N IO N GAL A
Irene Edem (L) and husband Emmanuel Edem ’82 are joined by Tom Quinn ’74 (R).
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Vicki Z. Behenna ’84, the 2013 Distinguished Law Alumna, and husband Scott.
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Lorenzo Banks ‘11, Director of Diversity Initiatives for the Office of Admissions, and his wife Regina.
2 0 1 3 AWA R D S & REU N IO N GAL A
November 2, 2013 800 N. Harvey Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon ’04 accepts the award for Outstanding Young Alumus
2 0 13 AWARDS & REU N IO N GAL A
Friends Dr. Edward Dalton (L) and Bob Mills celebrate with Bill Shdeed ’65 (R) the recipient of the 2013 Justice Marian P. Opala Award for Lifetime Achievement in Law.
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ADMISS IO N CEREMONY
Oklahoma City University School of Law’s newest members of the Oklahoma Bar take the Oath of Attorney during the September 2013 Admission Ceremony.
ADMIS S IO N CEREMO N Y
Shanika Chapman ’13 is joined by her husband and daughter after the ceremony.
ADMISS IO N CEREMO N Y
Sarah E. Hance ’13 and her parents after the Admission Ceremony.
A DM ISSIO N CE RE M O NY, September 25, 2013
Oklahoma State Capitol Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Colbert addresses OCU’s newest members of the Oklahoma bar.
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FA L L 2 0 1 3 OR IENTAT I O N
FAL L 2 0 1 3 O RI E N TAT ION
Two members of the incoming class pause under the Survivor Tree with the 9:03 Gate in the background.
Students from the incoming class gather under the Survivor Tree at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
FAL L 2 0 1 3 O RI E N TAT I O N
Students from the incoming class listen to a park ranger speak at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum during their orientation in August 2013.
FA L L 2 0 1 3 OR IENTATION, August 10, 2013, 800 N. Harvey & the Oklahoma City National Memorial
The fall 2013 incoming class stands in front of the future home of Oklahoma City University School of Law during their orientation.
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BY P R O F E S S O R S V O N R . C R E E L & A LV I N C . H A R R E L L
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‘72
Tribute:
Richard E. Coulson A Great Colleague, Scholar and Friend
O
N MAY 9, 2013, the Oklahoma City University School of Law community lost a valued colleague, accomplished scholar and true friend with the passing of former Dean and Professor Emeritus Richard E. Coulson. Richard joined the faculty in 1969 after graduating from the law school and serving as Law Clerk for Judge Alfred P. Murrah, then Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, one of the great jurists of modern times. Richard was born in Panhandle, Texas and graduated from the law school in 1968. He was an important part of the OCU community for over forty years, along with practicing bankruptcy law and arbitration and engaging in extensive public service. HISTORIC LAW SCHOOL ROLE It is an understatement of great dimension to say that the lives of Richard Coulson and the law school were inextricably intertwined. Richard has the unique distinction of having been a student, faculty member, Associate Dean and Dean of the law school. As with all Gaul, Richard’s historic relationship with the law school falls into three parts. First, he was an outstanding student. His selection to clerk for Judge Murrah attests to his academic
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34 25 32 7 YEARS TEACHING
SUBJECTS TAUGHT
AGE AS DEAN
achievements and standing. Second, he became an inspirational teacher. And then as Dean he moved the law school forward in dramatic ways.
private law school in the heartland
Joining the law school faculty after his clerkship with Judge Murrah, Richard savored the teaching and was loved by students, but soon found himself called upon for administrative tasks, serving in rapid succession as Assistant Dean, Interim Dean, and Dean. During those years, Richard was a major player in two of the most important decisions in the more than one-hundred-year history of the law school.
Michigan, the University of Chicago
First, Dean Ted Foster and Richard took a leap of faith, starting the day division. Previously the law school had been exclusively an evening program. The courage and vision of this decision cannot be gainsaid. The many great things that have happened here since the first day classes began in 1972 have their genesis in the bold and visionary leadership of Ted and Richard.
his colleagues’ mail, and there was
Closely related to having a day division was the decision to expand faculty recruitment and hiring beyond Oklahoma law schools. The law school faculty of that era was outstanding, but Richard recognized the national trend toward greater academic diversity. The task of persuading graduates of the finest regional and then national law schools to cast their lots with this
Richard was instrumental in bringing
was not easy. But Richard persevered, and today the law school faculty includes graduates of Harvard, Yale, and Pennsylvania, among others, something that in the mid-1970s might have seemed to some an unlikelihood or even an impossibility. Now, in this age of Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank Act full disclosure ad infinitum, ad nauseam, it must be disclosed that there were a few
DEANS WHILE AT OCU
new facility, world-wide programs and widely-recognized faculty. UNIVERSITY SERVICE Along with his many other accomplishments, Richard was a highly contributing member of the university community. He served many terms on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. As chair of that committee, he played a major role in increasing the faculty’s voice in university governance.
misses among the many hits. There
RICHARD THE SCHOLAR & TEACHER
was the one faculty member whose
After such a career, spanning decades, a goal of some faculty members might be to achieve enough seniority to teach three or four favorite courses each year, before slipping into retirement. But this was not for Richard; his interests were so broad, and his intellect so inquiring, that the history of his teaching resembles a Chinese menu: one course from Column A, two courses from Column B, continuing to the end of the alphabet. He taught at least twenty-five different subjects over the course of his career. This is almost certainly a law school record.
principal undertaking was reading the professor who at the end of the semester had covered some forty or so pages in a seven-hundred-plus page case book. And mention is deserving of the new hire who caused no academic problems at all, because she was deported before teaching her first class. Nonetheless, with all of the ups and a few downs, it must be said that the law school into the modern age and academic mainstream, setting a trajectory that ultimately would see the law school take its place on the national stage with a magnificent
And his writings reflect this breadth of scholarly curiosity. He put pen to paper, and later fingers to computer keyboard, producing articles on such diverse subjects as civil procedure (the Foundation of All Law, as emphasized by one of your authors), labor law, arbitration, constitutional law, bank-
“I have a constant need to learn and understand material, a curiosity about the subject matter that I enjoy sharing.”
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ruptcy, evidence, commercial paper,
persuading his faculty colleagues to
secured transactions and contracts
take a chance on a very new lawyer.
(the Foundation of Modern Society, as
We have never been able to thank
emphasized by your other author).
Richard enough for bringing us onto
Richard was serious about the scholarship and service responsibilities of a faculty member. But his great love was the classroom, the opportunity to challenge the
the law school faculty. For this, we are, and shall remain, grateful beyond our poor abilities to express. But we should note that, in this regard, our experience was not unique.
students intellectually, to push
Over the ensuing forty-plus years,
them to do their very best, and then
Richard was like a brother, and
some. Students entering Richard’s
best friend, to your authors. Yet,
classes with minds “full of mush” left
this was not unique to us, as many
thinking like lawyers. For Richard,
others (in the OCU community and
teaching was more than a job, it was
beyond) feel the same. Not only was
a calling. One thinks of Delderfield’s
Richard responsible for bringing
To Serve Them All My Days.
us to the law school faculty, in
Lawyers shaped by Richard’s teaching are to be found from Taloga to Idabel, from Boise City to Vinita, indeed from New York City to San Francisco,
significant measure his inspiration and friendship were responsible for keeping us there. And once again, for many others it was the same.
in foreign nations and on many
Certainly Richard inspired us, as stu-
continents. And notwithstanding
dents of the law, as teachers, as faculty
the Rule Against Perpetuities, the
colleagues, and as scholars, but most
legacy continues and endures to this
of all as friends. As a colleague he was
day, from generation to generation.
almost magical in the classroom — his
RICHARD THE FRIEND & COLLEAGUE
dedication to the law and manifest fairness were immediately apparent
Your authors find it difficult to realize
to students, thousands of whom
that more than four decades have
were transfixed and transformed by
passed since we met Richard and
his teaching. He helped to set the
quickly became fast friends. We
standard for excellence in teaching at
received our law degrees and were
the law school, coming to symbolize
admitted to the bar in 1968 and 1972.
the focus on students and traditional
All three of us clerked for Judge
values that characterize Oklahoma
Murrah. In 1969, Richard joined
City University. His example was
the law school faculty, and Von was
instrumental in expanding the
offered a clerkship with The Judge.
faculty and bringing to the law school
Von and Richard became acquainted
most of those teaching here today.
as Richard explained what clerking for Judge Murrah meant, although one could not really explain it. You had to experience it first-hand.
Yet, if anything, Richard’s influence as a colleague was even greater than his widely-recognized role in the history of the school would suggest.
As the second year of Von’s clerkship
Importantly, his overriding devotion
was ending, Richard inquired wheth-
to fairness and civility extended to
er Von had any interest in joining the
faculty relations. By example and
law school faculty. A short time later,
expectations he set standards for
Alvin completed his clerkship, and
collegial behavior that helped make
Richard asked the same question. In
the law school a dramatic exception
each case, Richard was responsible for
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polarized academic politics. This is
RICHARD THE
not to say that faculty meetings were
GENTLEMAN
any less raucous than one would expect — disagreements are inevitable in an academic setting. But Richard’s stature and the level of mutual respect he fostered helped to restrain these impulses and create what must have been one of the most collegial campus atmospheres anywhere. The impact of Richard’s friendship and principles extended to the realm of scholarship. Richard was the consummate intellectual, completely dedicated to the exploration of ideas and the search for higher truths. The depth and breadth of his intellect never failed to impress and as noted he exercised it in a multitude of disciplines. As suggested above, Richard was conversant at the highest levels in fields ranging from federal courts, jurisdiction and procedure to economics, philosophy and jurisprudence, from civil and common law history to contracts, bankruptcy and commercial law. His scholarly interests and dedication encouraged his colleagues as well as his students to engage in similar pursuits. Truly he lived a life of the mind, in the finest intellectual sense, to the lasting benefit of those who were privileged to know him.
Perhaps amazingly, given Richard’s prominent role in the legal and academic communities (where modest demeanor is not always a paramount trait), Richard was first, foremost and always a gentleman of the highest order. We have never known a man with higher moral standards, politeness, or a greater sense of fairness, humility and loyalty to his principles. Again, he set standards as a benchmark for many others. Even beyond this, and perhaps incongruently in terms of his intellectual prowess and understanding of the world, Richard remained unabashedly happy; he was nearly always cheerful, fundamentally optimistic and uplifting. A conversation with Richard, no matter how serious the topic or dire the potential consequences at issue (Richard was, with all else, a realist), was likely to leave one feeling upbeat, and ever hopeful for a better tomorrow.
Left to Right: Harrell, Coulson, Creel
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His intellect and personality served to emphasize that there was still hope for a rational world, conveying the message that, as long as there are Richard Coulsons in positions of influence, as teachers, scholars, lawyers and judges, there is hope that reason and fairness can prevail in human relations.
In almost any conversation with Richard, his hope and optimism were contagious. His intellect and personality served to emphasize that there was still hope for a rational world, conveying the message that, as long as there are
Richard Coulsons in positions of influence, as teachers, scholars, lawyers and judges, there is hope that reason and fairness can prevail in human relations. This was, perhaps, Richard’s greatest, among his many, many contributions to OCU and those who were privileged to call him a friend. CONCLUSION The progression of the law school’s stature during Richard Coulson’s tenure stands as a seminal achievement in the history of this city and state. It is a testament to many individuals, and beyond this to widely-shared Oklahoma values as an embodiment of classic American principles. But there is no single person more responsible for this success than Richard Coulson. For more than four decades Richard symbolized the traits that made this success possible. While the physical moves of the law school, from the old “barracks” to the Gold Star building to Sarkeys and now to the magnificent downtown campus, provide dramatic visual evidence of this progress, and are properly to be celebrated, we should never forget those who came before and helped make it all possible. At the top of your authors’ list is Richard E. Coulson.
In Memoriam dedicated to the memory of our
F R I E N D S
&
C O L L E A G U E S
ENRICO "RICK" J. ROMANO February 14, 1924 to December 18, 2013 • Class of 1957
LARRY D. BARNETT March 6, 1949 to September 23, 2013 • Class of 1974
GEORGE J. MISKOVSKY July 28, 1931 to May 17, 2013 • Class of 1962
STEPHEN P. GARRETT September 1, 1944 to November 18, 2013 • Class of 1976
J. C. FISHBURN February 27, 1925 to November 6, 2013 • Class of 1963
HAL L. HEFNER July 3, 1925 to November 21, 2013 • Class of 1976
WILLIAM C. MEADOWS March 21, 1925 to April 17, 2013 • Class of 1967
RAYMOND BAYS July 29, 1944 to April 9, 2013 • Class of 1978
RICHARD E. COULSON September 17, 1942 to May 9, 2013 • Class of 1968
ALMA FAYE POSEY WASHINGTON July 27, 1941 to August 31, 2014 • Class of 1984
RICHARD W. FREEMAN, SR. November 27, 1931 to October 25, 2013 • Class of 1968
JOSEPH LUIS RUFFIN April 1, 1955 to March 23, 2014 • Class of 1986
JAMES R. WOLFE July 18, 1944 to September 7, 2013 • Class of 1973
TIMOTHY C. ROBERTS December 20, 1958 to November 16, 2013 • Class of 1990
MICHAEL E. SCHMIDT April 8, 1966 to January 2, 2014 • Class of 1992
Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others. ~ R OSA P ARKS
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Photo by Lisa Lee Photography
BY M I C H A E L L A M B E RT
’14
Updating Justice Revising The District Court Judges’ Civil Benchbook
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N 1983, AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE composed of trial judges, and chaired by Justice Pat Irwin of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, published the first Civil Benchbook. The Benchbook’s purpose was to provide trial judges with a source of instant and correct legal information. District Court judges have enormous workloads. Unlike the lawyers that stand before them, these judges don’t have the time to perform extensive research on every issue presented in their courts. They need an up-to-date resource that can give them a primer on most any legal issue, and that points them to the correct primary authorities for further inquiry. The Civil Benchbook fulfilled this purpose when it was published more than 30 years ago. But in 2014 it was woefully inadequate.
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Laurie Jones, Oklahoma City University S T U DE NT PR O F I LE
Jeremy Kent Military Man with a Passion for Law 2L 2014-2015 HOMETOWN:
Lee’s Summit, MO UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
Fort Hays State University MAJOR:
Organizational Leadership PUBLIC SERVICE:
Fifteen honorable years of military service: U.S. Marine Corps, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, and U.S. Air Force.
School of Law’s Dean of Admissions, recognized this and created the Civil Benchbook Seminar for upper-class law
The Benchbook’s purpose was to provide trial judges with a source of instant and correct legal information. students. Fifteen second and third-year students, working in small groups, divided each chapter of the dated Benchbook and went through it line-by-line checking every word, statute and case for validity. “This project enhances a law student’s legal research and writing skills, as well as provides a complete civil procedure refresher before they take the bar,” said Jones. “This seminar was also designed to be a collaborative class, with students working together
to statutes and cases. Thus, judges can use this resource with more confidence and
for a final project. This prepares them for the
convenience then ever before, and future
practice of law when they will have to work
revisions will be a relatively simple task.
collaboratively with other attorneys or partners.” Each week, students presented their findings to the rest of the class. The results were jaw-dropping. The
The results were jaw-dropping ... Oklahoma judges were forced to rely on a resource that, oftentimes, contained little more than legal relics.
Civil Benchbook contained countless statutes that had been repealed,
No longer is there any question as to
recodified or amended, and the case
whether Oklahoma judges have access
citations were no more recent than the
to the most up-to-date legal materials —
1970s. In essence, Oklahoma judges
justice has officially been updated.
were forced to rely on a resource that, oftentimes, contained little more than “I have always had a deep desire to fight for and defend others. I personally feel that I can do the most good as an attorney given my background of military and government service.”
legal relics. This is why the Benchbook Seminar offered by the law school is so important. This complete revision will put current law at our judges’ fingertips. “The goal was to provide an up-to-date and accurate look at the law to Oklahoma judges, and to give law students insight into what judges consider on the bench,” said Jones. Another feature of this revision is that it will be accessible electronically with hyperlinks
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Michael Lambert graduated from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 2014. While at OCU, Michael was a Hatton Sumners Scholar, a member of the Law Review and he received a J. William Conger Outstanding Graduate Award. Michael accepted a position with GableGotwals in Oklahoma City.
In Conclusion Returning to Our Roots
O
KLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY School of Law is embarking on a monumental move to the heart of Oklahoma City.
But this is not the first time the law school has called downtown home.
“We will settle into a role that is central to the well-being of the state of Oklahoma, the city of Oklahoma City, our neighborhoods and the lives of our citizens, young and old, rich and poor, established or just beginning. We will be a part of the great journey of our state and its people.” DEAN VALERIE K. COUCH According to Bob Burke, author, historian and alum ( 1979), the law school was located in the heart of downtown for four years. As written in Burke’s book Oklahoma City University School of Law: A History, “the YMCA Building on Northwest Second Street in downtown Oklahoma City was the first home of the law school after OCU assumed control of Oklahoma City College of Law in 1952.” Law classes in the newly purchased and remodeled “Y” building began in September 1952 and took place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6–8 p.m. When enrollment opened in the fall of ’52, the Oklahoman reported that 200 students were registered. The University sold the former “Y” building to a local oil company in 1956, and the law school moved to the University’s main campus at 23rd
THE HEART OF THE ACTION
Law students hitting the books in Oklahoma City University’s downtown facility (APRIL 1953).
and Blackwelder. As the law school prepares to return to its roots, this time to a building that has been part of the Oklahoma City skyline for more than a century, one can’t help but share the spirit of the early pioneers who built this great city. L AW. O K C U . E D U
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