School of Law

“Judge Roberts was one of a handful of truly top-notch Supreme Court lawyers while he was in private practice,” says Neil Richards, associate professor of law.

RichardsPresident Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement has the potential to spark a messy confirmation process. “I think that both sides have been preparing for a war that seems inevitable regardless of whomever was nominated,” says Neil Richards, former law clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “On a personal level, I know John fairly well, and really like him. I’d imagine that he and I would disagree about many basic ideological and interpretive questions of law, but he’s very smart and a very decent human being who has the right sort of personality to do the job in a collegial and effective manner. So I strongly support his nomination, especially when I consider some of the other names on the shortlist, who lacked either John’s qualifications, his intellect, or his judicious temperament.”

The retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor from the Supreme Court will probably be the first of many changes in the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. “These changes would undoubtedly have an impact on how the Court decides its cases,” says Neil Richards, former law clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “In choosing future justices, I think that it’s important to focus not just on the outcomes of cases, but on how the Court does its business more broadly.”

RichardsWhether it happens this summer or some time in the future, there will eventually be changes in the personnel of the U.S. Supreme Court. Neil Richards, former law clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, is available to comment on the possible retirement of current Justices and the future of the Supreme Court. “Recent speculation has centered largely on the potential effect of a retirement by one of the Justices,” he says.”The course of the Court’s jurisprudence may well be at stake depending on the justice or justices who step down from the bench.”

BraceyMichael Jackson’s defense team came out strong in the final phase of the dramatic trial, according to Christopher Bracey, criminal procedure expert and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “The defense was effective in giving the jurors good reason to be skeptical of the prosecution’s case. No one can predict with any degree of accuracy what the jury will decide. But based upon the evidentiary phase of this trial, an acquittal certainly seems more likely than a conviction.” While the jury reviews the case, Bracey is available to comment on the trial process; how Jackson’s celebrity status will shape the jury’s consideration of evidence; and the verdict.

The School of Law celebrated the outstanding achievements of six individuals at its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner April 22 at The Ritz-Carlton. Distinguished Law Alumni Award recipients were Steven N. Rappaport, Barry S. Schermer, John C. Shapleigh and Raymond P. Wexler. Alan B. Bornstein and Linda M. Martinez received Distinguished Young Law Alumni Awards.

“I left St. Louis still thinking I would use law in a different career and came back from South Africa wanting to practice law,” she says.

“He often takes the unpopular view and stance, but he never backs down,” friend and classmate Whitney McGuire says.

Among the criteria for selection are outstanding achievement in research and scholarship & recognized prominence within the community of scholars.

The Vanderbilt Law School dean will take over at WUSTL effective Jan. 1; he’ll also become the Ethan A.H. Shepley University Professor.