Bondi received her law degree from Stetson University in 1990 and a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the University of Florida in 1987.

A Tampa native and fourth generation Floridian, Bondi worked as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office for 18 years before being elected in November 2010 to serve as Florida’s 37th attorney general.

Bondi is a member of the State Board of Administration and the Florida Cabinet, is vice chair of the southern region of the National Association of Attorneys General, and serves on Florida’s Special Olympics board of directors. She was recognized by the Tampa Bay Review as a “Lawyer of Distinction” and received the “Women of Excellence in Government” award.

A total of 353 students are scheduled to walk at Stetson Law’s commencement, including 51 part-time JD students, 11 LL.M. in elder law students, 17 LL.M. in international law students, 25 JD/MBA students and one JD/MPH student.

Among this year’s graduating class are:

• Jamie Combee and Erik Johanson, both co-editors of Stetson’s new Journal of Advocacy and the Law and members of the Moot Court Board. Combee is also a member of Stetson’s Trial Team.
• Caitlein Jammo, president of the American Constitution Society, editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Aging, Law & Policy, Stetson Law Review editor and Moot Court Board member.
• Frank Leung, representative to the Florida Bar YLD–Law Student Division board of governors, deputy chief student ambassador, national law student liaison to the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law, editor of the Journal of International Aging Law & Policy, and Alternative Dispute Resolution board member.
• Erin Okuno, a Biodiversity Fellow, president of the Environmental Law Society, Stetson Law Review editor-in-chief, Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy editor, and member of Stetson’s Moot Court Board.

For more information about graduation at Stetson Law, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/graduation/.

At this year’s celebration, Dr. T. Wayne Bailey, political science professor at Stetson since 1963, was recognized for his 50^th anniversary at Stetson. Bailey, who is one of the founders of Stetson’s Model U.S. Senate and the annual International Symposium, is director of the Washington Semester at American University program and he chaired and continues to serve on the Pre-Law Advisory Committee at Stetson.

In her remarks honoring Bailey in front of an assembly of faculty and staff on Monday, April 29, Provost Beth Paul said, “Dr. T. Wayne Bailey has taught nearly every political science course ever offered at Stetson. Many former students have gone on to serve in state legislature and congressional positions, including former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, a 1964 Stetson graduate, and at least three alumni currently serving in the Florida Legislature. Dr. Bailey is well known for volunteering his expertise for local, state and national groups. He has held various leadership positions in the Florida Democratic Party and was a Florida delegate to the Democratic National Convention from 1972 to 2012, attending 10 National Conventions. He has done extensive work with local government – cities and counties – upgrading their charters and reforming their governments.”

Bailey has been an active member of the American Lung Association for over 40 years, and in 2004, was the first person in the United States to receive the Discovery Health Channel Medical Honor for his work with the ALA, in making Florida’s public areas officially smoke-free.

Celebrating 50 years at Stetson University, Bailey was inducted into Stetson’s Gold Circle. President Wendy Libby and Provost Paul presented Bailey with a personalized Seiko gold and silver watch.

Also honored at Stetson’s 2013 Employee Recognition Celebration:

• 40 years of service, each receiving a mantle clock:
  • James R. Beasley
  • A. Richard Kindred
• 35 years of service, each receiving a crystal pitcher:
  • Derek T. Barkalow
  • Robert D. Batey
  • Robert D. Bickel
  • Linda P. Davis
  • Richard A. Ferland
  • Benjamin Heflin
  • Gloria Heflin
  • Earlene G. Kuester
  • Donald W. Musser
  • David C. Rigsby
• 30 years of service, each receiving marble coasters:
  • Pamela D. Burdett
  • Mitchell Reddish
  • Michael Rickman
  • Stephen Robinson
  • Beverly Romans
  • Theodore Surynt
  • Sally G. Waters
• New inductees into the university’s Silver Circle for 25 years of service, each receiving a silver clock:
  • Deborah A. Bartles
  • Peter G. May
  • Michael W. McFarland
  • Lynn A. Musco
  • Marleen O’Connor
  • Kenneth B. Oliver
  • John H. Pearson
  • Sandra L. Wilcox
• Retirees, each receiving a crystal cube:
  • Robert D. Batey
  • Jane Bradford
  • Pamela D. Burdett
  • John Cooper
  • Rosemary Congelosi
  • Shirley D. Ferguson
  • Joyce Fulton
  • Linda Grooms
  • Richard Peter Heine
  • Willard Kilgore
  • A. Richard Kindred
  • JoAnne L. Longo
  • Lizabeth Moody
  • Christine B. Nelson
  • Paul Steeves
  • Judy Ward.

While serving as Stetson’s dean, Jacob greatly increased the number of minority full-time faculty members. In February, Jacob was named a Power 100 Advocate by On Being A Black Lawyer for his efforts to make the legal profession more racially diverse.

He has taught more than 20 different law courses since beginning his teaching career in 1965, and he continues to teach courses on constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law and criminal procedure at Stetson.

Jacob began his career in 1960 as an assistant state attorney general for the state of Florida. He represented the respondent in the landmark Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963. He founded the Legal Assistance for Inmates program in Atlanta and the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project. In 2006, the members of the American Inn of Court in Tampa named their inn the Bruce R. Jacob Criminal Appellate Inn of Court.

The bar association’s namesake, Judge George E. Edgecomb, became the first African-American judge in Hillsborough County in 1973. Judge Glenda A. Hatchett, recognized as one of the “100 Best and Brightest Women in Corporate America” by Ebony magazine, presented the keynote address at the banquet.

The bar passage rate at Stetson has increased over the past decade. Stetson’s bar preparation program is staffed by a full-time professor and two staff members who provide individual and group counseling and help students build personalized study plans.

The Stetson College of Law, pictured at right, is located in Gulfport, Fla. The Tampa Law Center is located in downtown Tampa. To read this and other news from the College of Law click here.

Stetson President Wendy Libby signs the new 3+3 agreement with USF President Judy Genshaft, while Law Dean Chris Pietruszkiewicz and Provost Beth Paul look on. Photo by Aimee Blodgett for the University of South Florida.

Aspiring attorneys can reduce the time they spend earning a law degree through a new “3+3” program announced today by the University of South Florida and Stetson University College of Law.

Students seeking a JD degree typically complete a four-year undergraduate program followed by three years of law school. The new 3+3 accelerated path allows qualified students to earn both their bachelor’s and JD degrees within six years. Students spend three years at USF and three years at Stetson Law. Students’ first year in the full-time JD program at Stetson also serves as their final year of study at USF. Interested students must enroll in USF’s Honors College and meet the program’s eligibility requirements.

“Through our agreement with the USF Honors College, students can graduate with an undergraduate degree and a law degree in six years, save a year of tuition, and attend the top ranked advocacy program in the country — a program that blends foundational law with the legal skills necessary to succeed in today’s marketplace,” said Stetson Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz. “Together, Stetson and USF will help to create not only the next generation of lawyers but also the next generation of leaders.”

The 3+3 program also provides partial scholarship support for students once they start at Stetson. Once admitted into the 3+3 program, students will be paired with a student, graduate, and/or faculty member mentor from the College of Law.

“The partnership between the University of South Florida and Stetson University College of Law is a great opportunity for highly-motivated and focused students to achieve their goals. Our brightest students are eager to take on the challenges of advanced degrees, and we are confident the excellent undergraduate education they received at USF will prepare them for the rigors of Stetson’s exceptional program. These talented students will move more quickly through their education – incurring less debt – and be on their way to reaching their goals,” said USF System President Judy Genshaft.

The agreement between the two institutions was officially signed today during a ceremony attended by Genshaft, Stetson University President Wendy Libby, as well as several other top administrators from each institution.

Stetson Law teams shown here with the competition judges at the Indiana Supreme Court. Photo by Brooke Bowman.

Stetson University College of Law students won the National Professional Responsibility Moot Court Competition in Indianapolis, Ind. Stetson students also won all six of the possible awards, sweeping the competition.

Two teams of Stetson students beat teams from around the country to compete against each other in the final round, presented at the Indiana Supreme Court. The Stetson team of Kevin Crews, Erin Okuno and Morgan Vasigh won the final round, competing against the Stetson team of Adriana Corso, Erin Dolan and Michelle Reilly.

Stetson students Corso, Dolan and Reilly won the Best Petitioner Brief Award. Crews, Okuno and Vasigh won the Best Respondent Brief Award. Okuno was also named Best Oralist in both the preliminary and final rounds.

This is the second year in a row in which a Stetson team has won top awards at this competition. Last year, the Stetson team won the Best Oralist Overall, the Best Respondent Brief, as well as the entire competition.

“At Stetson, we focus on preparing and developing the whole advocate, and our students were remarkably prepared, thanks to the assistance of numerous attorneys and alumni who came to judge the teams’ practices,” said Stetson’s moot court adviser and professor Brooke Bowman. “The judges recognized that the Stetson students were the best advocates—in writing and orally—at this competition. These judges also commented on the students’ impressive level of professionalism.”

Stetson professors Bowman and Roberta Flowers coached the Stetson teams.

To learn more about advocacy at Stetson, visit www.law.stetson.edu/advocacy.

“Stetson teacher-scholars facilitate transformational learning in our students,” said Provost Elizabeth Paul, who made the announcement Wednesday, March 27. “They are themselves passionate lifelong learners who, through their scholarly, creative and professional engagement, make important contributions to the advancement of knowledge, disciplines and society. And they are leaders of the continual progress of Stetson University in realizing our important mission. Each and every one of these individuals exemplifies teacher-scholar excellence. I celebrate their accomplishments and thank them for their inspiration and impact.”

Cindy Bennington – Promotion to Professor of Biology

Bennington

Dr. Cindy Bennington has conducted ecological research in Alaska, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida.  At Stetson, she teaches courses on ecology and botany; she actively engages students in research on arctic and temperate plant species. Central Florida’s dry, sandy, nutrient-poor soils, coupled with a rich diversity of animal attackers, provide ample opportunities for her to pursue long-standing interests in plant adaptation to stressful environments.  She also regularly involves Stetson students in environmental service-learning projects both on and off campus.  Currently, she and Dr. Karen Cole, Director of the Gillespie Museum, are working to develop the Volusia Sandhill Teaching Landscape, a project adjacent to the Museum where visitors can learn about the longleaf pine ecosystem that historically dominated the sandhills of central Florida.

David Bjella – Promotion to Professor of Music

Bjella

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cellist David Bjella has had a multi-faceted career as a teacher, chamber musician, orchestral player, and soloist. He directs the Chamber Music program at Stetson and is Co-Principal in the IRIS Chamber Orchestra.  He is also a member of the Inman Piano Trio. One of the featured IRIS chamber musicians for the Naxos-released CD “Music of Stephen Hartke,” chosen by the New York Times as a “Top 10 Classical Recording of 2003,” Bjella has held appointments as Visiting Associate Professor of Cello at Florida State University and Professor of Cello at the University of Central Florida. He has also taught in the Valade Master Teacher program at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.

Debbi Dinkins – Promotion to Professor and Associate Dean of the duPont-Ball Library

Dinkins

Debbi Dinkins, Associate Dean of the duPont-Ball Library, works closely with the Dean of the Library on administration and planning.  She is responsible for all aspects of Technical Services, including acquisitions, cataloging, periodicals, and computer systems.  Dinkins manages the library’s materials budgets and operating budgets.  She oversees the acquisition and cataloging of the library’s collections, which include over 300,000 volumes of books and bound periodicals, more than 70,000 electronic books, and access to over 64,000 electronic journals.  Management and maintenance of the 46 public computers in the library are also her responsibility. Dinkins’ research and professional interests include patron-driven acquisition of eBooks, library collection evaluation, and cataloging.  Her articles have been published in such journals as College and Research Libraries and The Journal of Academic Librarianship.

Tishia Dunham – Promotion to Associate Professor of Legal Skills

Dunham

Tishia Dunham teaches legal skills and is Director of Bar Preparation Services.  Prior to joining Stetson’s faculty, Professor Dunham practiced law in the areas of employment law, commercial litigation, and real property with an emphasis on community associations.  Dunham teaches and writes primarily in the area of state constitutional law. She is the co-author of Florida Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials (Carolina Academic Press, 2013).

Glen Epley – Awarded tenure as Professor of Teacher Education

Dr. Glen Epley has been a sportswriter for a metropolitan daily newspaper, a high school history teacher, a professor at three universities, a deputy superintendent of the Volusia County Schools, and an executive with Brown & Brown, Inc., one of the premier insurance brokerages in the nation and world.  Since joining Stetson, Dr. Epley teaches primarily in the graduate program for educators who are pursuing masters’ degrees in educational leadership.  His specialties are school law and school finance.  He also teaches a seminar on the legal rights of students in public schools.  Dr. Epley’s research focuses on constitutional jurisprudence as it affects public schools, and he has published in NASSP Bulletin, Phi Delta Kappan, Education Law Reporter, Kappa Delta Pi Record, and The Clearing House, among others.  He is a frequent presenter at national conferences on school law and school finance.  His current research project involves the legal concerns for school officials when they attempt to regulate student speech off school grounds on the internet and social media sites.

Eric Kurlander – Promoted to Professor of History

Kurlander

Dr. Eric Kurlander teaches classes on modern German, European, and world history. His recent book, Living with Hitler (Yale, 2009), examines the ways in which German liberals negotiated, resisted, and in some ways accommodated the Third Reich. He is also author of The Price of Exclusion: Ethnicity, National Identity, and the Decline of German Liberalism, 1898-1933 (Berghahn, 2006). His articles have appeared in Central European History, The Journal of Contemporary History, The Historian, and other journals.  Kurlander has held fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Historical Institute, and other granting agencies.  He is currently at work on two additional book projects:  a textbook co-authored with colleague Dr. Kimberly Reiter, The West in Question: Continuity and Change (Pearson-Longman), and Nazi Monsters:  A Supernatural History of the Third Reich (Yale trade division, forthcoming).

 Lance Long – Awarded programmatic tenure and promoted to Professor of Legal Skills

Long

Lance Long joined Stetson after having taught legal research and writing at J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, and at the University of Oregon School of Law. Before teaching, Professor Long practiced with Morrison & Foerster in Orange County, California and Hill, Johnson & Schmutz in Provo, Utah. His practice focuses on appellate and motion practice in the areas of intellectual property, contract, and construction law. Professor Long’s scholarship currently centers on empirical analyses of language patterns in appellate briefs and opinions. His two most recent articles, “Does the Readability of Your Brief Affect Your Chance of Winning on Appeal?” and “Clearly Using Intensifiers is Very Bad—Or Is It?” were published, respectively, in the Journal of Appellate Practice & Process and The Idaho Law Review.

Brigid Noonan – Promotion to Professor of Counselor Education 

Noonan

Dr. Brigid M. Noonan, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, ACS, chairs the Department of Counselor Education.  She has more than 19 years of clinical experience working with a range of diverse clients, with a focus on addiction, eating disorders and depression, disability, career issues, and sexual identity.  Her research focuses on international counselor education, advocacy and social justice, working with families, and sexuality and spirituality.  Her recent articles have been published in such venues as International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling and Professional Issues in Counseling.  She is also co-author of a chapter in Handbook of Counselor Preparation:  Constructivist, Developmental, and Experiential Approaches (Sage, 2011).

Jason Palmer – Awarded programmatic tenure

Palmer

Jason Palmer joined Stetson after teaching legal writing and oral advocacy at George Washington University Law School. Most recently, he worked for the Department of State, representing the United States in international arbitration cases before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. He also spent four years in Switzerland working as a claims judge for the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts, adjudicating claims of victims of Nazi persecution; for the United Nations Compensation Commission, coordinating review of Palestinian claims against Iraq as a result of its invasion and occupation of Kuwait; and for the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich, creating and teaching a course for Swiss lawyers on U.S. legal writing. Before working in Switzerland and at the Department of State, Professor Palmer spent several years in private practice in Washington, D.C., focusing on commercial litigation and international arbitration.  He is author of numerous articles on international law, and he has served as editor of several legal journals.

Leila Roach – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Counselor Education

Roach

Dr. Leila Roach coordinates the Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling Program. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an approved supervisor for Mental Health Counselors in the state of Florida and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). Dr. Roach has 22 years of experience counseling children, adolescents, adults, couples and families, including members of the Deaf community, in a variety of settings. She has advanced training in play therapy, couples counseling, and disaster mental health. Her research interests include wellness in counseling and counselor education, the personal and professional development of counseling students, and spirituality in counseling.

 Joshua Rust – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Philosophy

Rust

Dr. Joshua Rust is the author of two books, John Searle and the Construction of Social Reality (Continuum, 2005) and John Searle (Continuum, 2009). He is also a coauthor of several articles in empirical philosophy concerning the behavior of ethicists as compared to other academic professionals. On the lighter side, he has coauthored two essays (with Dr. Susan Pepper-Bates) at the intersection of popular culture and philosophy: one on True Blood and the other on Harry Potter. Areas of interest include metaphilosophy, explanation, social construction, and Wittgenstein. He is also interested in the history of 20th century analytic philosophy and ancient philosophy. Joshua is the secretary/treasurer for the Florida Philosophical Association, co-chair on the Values Steering Committee, and a member of the Social Justice Lecture Series Committee.

 Ranjini Thaver – Promoted to Professor of Economics 

Thaver

Dr. Ranjini Thaver, born in South Africa, completed her bachelor’s degree, with honors, in Economics at the University of Cape Town, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in Economics at the University of Notre Dame. She has taught at Stetson since 1992. She developed the first university-based microcredit program in the world, located in a poverty-stricken area in DeLand, and in Manio Village, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. She has partnered with local and national organizations to deliver economically empowering programs to the poor, such as personal finance education workshops, and volunteer income tax preparation (VITA). She is recipient of Stetson University’s McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has presented her research at international, national, and local conferences, and at universities such as Cornell, Notre Dame, and Mary Washington College.

Chris Tobler – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Finance 

Tobler

Dr. Chris Tobler teaches both undergraduate and graduate level course in finance and in the Executive MBA and JD/BMA programs.  His teaching interests include investments, corporate finance and risk-management.  His scholarship focuses on derivatives, asset pricing, and the role of overvaluation in mergers and acquisitions. He has published in various journals including the Journal of Finance and Accountancy, Banking and Finance Review and the International Journal of Global Business and Economics.

Louis Virelli – Promoted to Professor of Law

Virelli

Louis Virelli teaches courses in administrative law, civil procedure, constitutional law, and federal pretrial practice. He co-coaches two of Stetson’s moot court teams and is faculty advisor to the Freethinkers Rhetoric Society and the Stetson chapter of the American Constitution Society.  Prior to joining Stetson, Professor Virelli served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  He also taught legal research and writing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he was named best oralist in the law school’s Keedy Cup moot court competition and served as articles editor on the Journal of Constitutional Law. Professor Virelli clerked for Judge Franklin S. Van Antwerpen of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the Third Circuit.  He has written on constitutional interpretation, congressional power, the teaching of evolution in public schools, and the role of scientific information in the regulatory process. His articles have appeared in such journals as the Miami Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and the Administrative Law Review. 

Becky Watts – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies 

Watts

Dr. Rebecca Watts’ teaching and scholarship centers on the application of rhetorical theory and criticism to public culture, including Southern culture, political culture, and popular culture. She is interested in organizational crisis rhetoric as well as internet communication as a way of increasing participation in public culture (in everything from political culture to sports culture).  Her book, Contemporary Southern Identity: Community through Controversy (University Press of Mississippi, 2008), applies rhetorical theory and criticism to Southern culture specifically and public discourse in general.

John York – Awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry 

York

Dr. John York has expertise in inorganic, organometallic, and biological inorganic chemistry.  His research focuses on using transition metal compounds to perform important chemical transformations.  He is especially interested in understanding how copper can function in both biological and industrial systems to bind with important organic molecules like alkenes and thiophenes. In this research, Dr. York utilizes both synthetic chemistry and computational chemistry methods.  He is also active in the field of chemical education and develops innovative techniques and materials for teaching chemistry to undergraduate students.

Stetson Law Professor and Dean Emeritus Bruce Jacob has handled cases for indigent clients for 50 years.

As a young lawyer in his 20s working for the Florida attorney general in Tallahassee 50 years ago, a Stetson University College of Law graduate named Bruce Jacob was assigned to represent the respondent in a Supreme Court case that made history.

The Court’s landmark decision on March 18, 1963, regarding the right to a fair trial in Gideon v. Wainwright was the impetus for the idea of public defenders. Jacob, now a professor and dean emeritus at Stetson University College of Law, was inspired to dedicate the next 50 years of his life to handling cases for indigent clients.

Shortly after the decision in Gideon, Jacob said he signed up as a volunteer public defender, one of the first in the state.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do,” Jacob explained.

After joining the faculty at Emory University School of Law in 1965, Jacob established the Legal Assistance for Inmates Program at the Atlanta Penitentiary. In just the first two weeks after its launch, more than 750 inmates approached the program for assistance. Jacob supervised the program and 53 students who volunteered to work on cases. In 1969, Jacob took a federal prisoner’s case to the Supreme Court and won the case for the petitioner in Kaufman v. United States.

While studying at Harvard Law School, Jacob helped start the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project. Through the Community Legal Assistance Office in Cambridge, Mass., Jacob supervised law students defending criminal cases and representing indigent people.

Jacob fought for the rights of the indigent throughout his teaching career. He has taught 20 different law school courses over the past 48 years. Jacob currently teaches courses on constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law and criminal procedure at Stetson University, where he has received hundreds of letters from inmates and lawyers through the years requesting his expertise.

Jacob is taking one inmate’s case, the case of Dwight Roberts, to the Florida Supreme Court. That case involves a sentence that was imposed on the basis of an unconstitutional statute, Jacob said.

Recently, Jacob also took the clemency case of Jerome Davis, referred to him by the Public Defender’s Office. A non-violent offender, Davis was convicted multiple times for selling cocaine or fake cocaine and sentenced in 1991 to life in prison, the highest penalty allowed. Jacob estimated that the combined sum of money Davis made from all drug sales was $70 and that tax-payers have spent approximately $30K a year on Davis’ prison stay over the past 20 years.

“Sentences in the U.S. are longer than in any other country in the world,” Jacob said.

Jacob is asking Florida’s clemency board to consider whether Davis’ life-sentence fits his crime, the same sentence defendants convicted of sexual battery, child molestation, and murder have received. Ultimately, the state attorney general, Commissioner of Agriculture and governor will review the clemency application that he filed on May 30, 2012, Jacob said.

One obstacle to shorter prison sentences for non-violent offenders like Davis, Jacob said, could be opposition from the prison industry itself, which supports employees who are caretakers of long-term prisoners. Another obstacle is the struggle to provide indigent people with adequate counsel.

Fifty years after Gideon, Jacob said that public defender offices are underfunded and lawyers are overwhelmed with cases.

“The justice system requires ethical prosecutors and solid defense lawyers,” Jacob said “Without criminal defense lawyers, the justice system disintegrates.”

Jacob is appealing Dwight Roberts’ case in April.

Click here for more information on this multimedia website.

Related articles:

“Remembering Gideon’s Lawyers”
By Professor Bruce Jacob
Published in The Champion, June 2012

“Memories of and Reflections about Gideon v. Wainwright”
By Professor Bruce Jacob
Published in Stetson Law Review, Fall 2003

“Fifty years after Gideon, lawyers still struggle to provide counsel to the indigent”
By Mark Walsh
Published in the ABA Journal, March 2013

“So You Want to Learn More About the Gideon Case?”
By Andrew Cohen
Published in the Atlantic, March 2013

Stetson BLSA member Andrenette Sullivan was installed as Advocacy Specialist for the BLSA Southern Region Executive Board.

Sullivan attended the convention along with Stetson BLSA member Pavielle Bookman, and BLSA chapter delegates Charis Campbell, Brannon Gary, Angelica Jones, Valeria Obi, and BLSA president Lakeisha Simms.

“Our accomplishments over this past year make me extremely optimistic about the future of Stetson’s BLSA,” said Simms.

Last month, Stetson’s BLSA was named Chapter of the Year for the Southern Region for outstanding community activism from a pool of 43 law school chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

AAJ Regional winners (L-R): Charles Strauss, William Gower III, Erica Emas and Andona Zacks-Jordan. Photo by Austin Miniard.

Stetson University College of Law students won the American Association for Justice Regional Mock Trial Championship on March 10 in Miami, Fla.

Sixteen teams competed in Miami. Stetson students Erica Emas, William Gower III, Andona Zacks-Jordan and Charles Strauss won the regional and a chance to compete against 13 teams from around the country in the AAJ nationals, April 4-7, in New Orleans.

“These competitions give our students the opportunity to learn and practice the exact same skills that will serve them, and even more importantly their clients, well in years to come,” said Stetson Trial Advocacy Fellow Lee Coppock. “The prestigious American Association for Justice competition is one of only two mock trial events that starts with more than 200 different squads and ends with one champion.”

Coppock, Judge David A. Demers, and St. Petersburg College paralegal studies dean Susan Demers coached the Stetson team.

Download a high-resolution image of the team by visiting Stetson Law News.

To learn more visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/advocacy/  or watch a video introduction to advocacy at Stetson here.