South African judge and human rights lawyer to speak at Stetson Law
President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to be honored with award
For Immediate Release
GULFPORT, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law will host prominent South African judge and human rights lawyer, Edwin Cameron, for The William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture in Ethics as part of the annual Inns of Court event, which will be held virtually on Monday, Feb. 22.
Also during the event, Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), will receive the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award.
“We are thrilled to welcome two outstanding leaders in human rights to the Stetson Law community. We look forward to hearing more from them on the issues surrounding mass incarceration and the specific social justice challenges impacting South Africa and the United States,” said Dean Michèle Alexandre. “It promises to be a wonderful and illuminating afternoon.”
About Cameron
Cameron retired in August 2019 after 25 years’ service as a judge, the last 11 in South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court. Before that, he served in the Supreme Court of Appeal for eight years, and the High Court for six.
A human rights lawyer before his decades on the bench, Cameron fought for LGBTI equality, including the historic inclusion of sexual orientation in the South African Constitution. As someone living with HIV, he was a fierce critic of President Thabo Mbeki’s AIDS denialist policies. He was also the first senior official in Africa to state publicly that he is living with HIV/AIDS, for which Nelson Mandela once referred to him as “one of South Africa’s new heroes.”
Cameron received numerous honors for his legal and human rights work, including a special award by the Bar of England and Wales in 2002 for his “contribution to international jurisprudence and the protection of human rights.” He has written two prize-winning memoirs, Witness to AIDS (2005) and Justice: A Personal Account (2014).
He currently serves as Chancellor of Stellenbosch University and was appointed Judicial Inspector of Correctional Services.
About Meade
Meade is a formerly homeless returning citizen who overcame many obstacles to eventually become the president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, and a graduate of Florida International University College of Law.
He led the FRRC to a historic victory in 2018 with the successful passage of Amendment 4, a grassroots citizen’s initiative that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions. Amendment 4 represented the single largest expansion of voting rights in the United States in half a century.
In 2019, Meade was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and was named Floridian and Central Floridian of the Year.
About Inns of Court and William Reece Smith Jr.
The Inns of Court is a tradition used to train barristers in London that focuses on maintaining close mentoring relationships between lawyers-to-be and eminent scholars, lawyers and judges. Local dignitaries, federal, circuit and county judges, Tampa Bay lawyers, area Inns of Court members and Stetson students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the virtual event.
Highlights of the event include The William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture in Ethics, a series that was created from an endowment to bring renowned lecturers in litigation ethics to Stetson and to pay tribute to William Reece Smith Jr., as well as the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award to recognize individuals who have provided outstanding contributions to public service, the justice system, and the community.
Smith was a legendary Florida lawyer who dedicated more than 60 years to the legal profession, working to increase the legal services available to people who could not afford them. He was a member of the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame, joined the Stetson Law faculty in 1954, and was named a distinguished professorial lecturer in 1991.
NOTE: Members of the media interested in attending the event should contact the Communications Office via the information below.
Post date: Feb. 16, 2021
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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