Justice Roderick L. Ireland presents Stetson law school commencement May 14

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Roderick L. Ireland, the first African-American chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, delivered Stetson law school’s commencement address at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, in the Plaza Mayor courtyard on Stetson’s Gulfport campus.

Watch the video of Stetson law school’s May 14 commencement:

Justice Ireland described how he began his legal career as a public defender, representing clients who were impoverished and often ignored.

“Please remember: it is your duty to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Justice Ireland told the law students gathered for commencement.

Justice Ireland shared three life lessons with the crowd gathered to hear him talk: be humble, be prepared and make a difference.

When he was appointed an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1997, Ireland became the first African-American to sit on that bench in its over 300-year history. In 2010, Ireland became the Court’s first African-American chief justice. Ireland was one of the four justices who voted in favor of same-sex marriage in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003), the nation’s very first case in which a state supreme court declared same-sex marriage constitutional.

More than 200 Stetson law school students celebrated commencement, among them:

• Brandon Breslow, award-winning trial team and Honors Program member, teaching assistant and Stetson student ambassador who is graduating with a concentration in advocacy;

• Hayley Brew, Environmental Law Society vice president, member of the Dispute Resolution Board, Stetson student ambassador and student editor with the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy;

• Darnesha Carter, Honors Program and award-winning moot court member, Stetson Law Review editor, 2013-2014 Black Law Students Association member of the year;

• Daniel J. Kavanaugh, former police officer, veteran of the U.S. Army, award-winning member of Stetson’s trial team and president of the Student Bar Association who delivered greetings during the ceremony;

• Jounice Nealy-Brown, director of communications at the Tampa Bay Times and longtime journalist, Stetson Law Review senior associate and recipient of the Outstanding New Associate Award who is graduating from the part-time J.D. program;

• P.J. Nowlan, president of the International Law Society, member of the Dispute Resolution Board and editor of the Journal of International Aging Law and Policy, who is graduating with a J.D. from Stetson in the international law concentration and a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida.

Commencement Slideshow

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Post date: May 14, 2016

Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
[email protected] | 727-430-1580