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Stetson Law inducts six into Hall of Fame

Stetson University College of Law inducted six new members into its Hall of Fame on Oct. 27 in Gulfport. Hall of Fame inductees are selected for having a profound and positive impact on Stetson Law and the legal profession.

» View photos from the Hall of Fame on Flickr

This year’s inductees include:

Professor Suzanne R. Armstrong

Professor Suzanne R. Armstrong was an influential member of the Legal Research and Writing faculty who played an instrumental role in bringing computer technology to the law school. Professor Armstrong died in 1990 after a long battle with cancer. After her death, Stetson established an annual writing award in her name.

» View video of Suzanne Armstrong

Denis M. deVlaming ’72

Denis M. deVlaming served as president of several legal organizations including the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Pinellas County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Pinellas County Trial Lawyers Association and the Clearwater Bar Association. He teaches Advanced Criminal Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at Stetson and is a past recipient of Stetson’s William Reece Smith Jr. Award for Professionalism. DeVlaming has also been an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and a guest lecturer at St. Petersburg College.

» View video of Denis deVlaming

John A. Guyton Jr. ’59

John A. Guyton Jr. had a positive impact on Stetson University as a long-serving member of the law school’s board of overseers. His fundraising support helped create many student scholarships and increased the law school’s financial security. Guyton was a member of the Florida Bar for more than 50 years.

» View video of John Guyton

Dean Thomas F. Lambert Jr.

In 1941, former Stetson University College of Law Dean Thomas F. Lambert Jr. was the youngest law school dean in the United States at the age of 26, and among the best educated with degrees from Yale, Oxford and UCLA. At the height of World War II, Lambert enrolled in the military and went on to become a prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials. After the Nuremberg trials, Lambert taught law at Suffolk University and Boston University. Lambert served for 40 years as the editor-in-chief of the NACCA Law Journal, which later became the Journal of the American Trial Lawyers Association.

» View video of Thomas Lambert

Mada Fraser McLendon ’32

In 1938, Mada Fraser McLendon became Florida’s third female judge. After 10 years on the bench, she stepped down to resume her law practice until 1979. In 1989, she was awarded the Stetson Lawyers Association Ben C. Willard Memorial Award for her outstanding service to the legal profession. She was very active in her Lake Wales community, winning numerous civic awards.

» View video of Mada Fraser McLendon

James D. Whittemore ’77

U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore was nominated by former President Clinton in 1999, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and has served in the Tampa division of the Middle District of Florida since May 2000. While in private practice in 1985, Whittemore successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that a defendant’s silence following a Miranda warning could not be used at trial to discredit an insanity defense.

Author, torture survivor spoke with students about social justice and exile

“It is the lack of opportunity to participate in social life that is the trauma of exile,” Ezat Mossallanejad, Ph.D., told Stetson Law students gathered to hear him talk in the Mann Lounge on Oct. 24.

Dr. Ezat Mossallanejad speaks with Stetson Law students on Oct. 24. — Dr. Ezat Mossallanejad spoke with Stetson Law students on Oct. 24.

The victim of torture in Iran, Dr. Mossallanejad fled to Canada in 1985 and helped found the Iranian Cultural and Community Centre. He illustrated the struggle for social justice through the experience of being a refugee and newcomer in Canada.

“In order to have a job in Canada, you have to have job experience in Canada, and in order to have job experience, you have to have had a job. It’s a Catch-22,” said Dr. Mossallanejad, who has a doctorate in political economy.

Dr. Mossallanejad is the settlement and trauma counselor/policy analyst and researcher with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and the author of the books, Religion and the Cruel Return of Gods and Torture in the Age of Fear.

The Florida Center for Survivors of Torture, Amnesty International and the Center for Inquiry helped sponsor Dr. Mossallanejad’s talk at Stetson Law in Gulfport on “Torture as a Strategy of Oppression.”

Impact of race and poverty on effective legal representation the topic of Oct. 24 talk at Stetson Law

Stephen Bright, the president and senior counsel of the Southern Human Rights Network, discussed “The Impact of Race and Poverty on Effective Assistance of Council” during a noontime lecture for Stetson Law students on Oct. 24.

Stephen Bright talked with students on Oct. 24 in the Great Hall.

Bright discussed the history of justice in the U.S. and inequalities in legal representation for the poor.

“The criminal justice system today is very much defined by the past,” said Bright.

He discussed the failure of the justice system after the Civil War to protect the victims of lynchings and punish the perpetrators. Bright also explained the importance of the historic Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright.

“The dream of Gideon is not a dream. It’s a constitutional requirement,” said Bright. “You must give people lawyers.”

Bright said that three months after the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon, the legislature established public defenders in every judicial circuit. Florida became a model for its approach to public defender work. However, the need for public defenders quickly outgrew the resources available.

“Without necessary resources, case loads become crushing,” Bright explained.

He pointed to the recent example of the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office, where four years ago, less than 100 lawyers represented 40,000 noncapital felony cases.

“A big case load goes with the territory,” said Bright. However, he explained that there is a limit to the number of cases a public defender can effectively handle.

Bright urged the students considering work as public defenders to remember their responsibility to represent all clients equally. He reminded the law students that a commitment to professionalism and ethics should balance public service work.

Students at Stetson Law are required to complete pro bono work as a requirement of graduation. Stetson’s public defender clinic was one of the first of its kind in the nation.

Marine, Stetson Law student again brings Heroes Weekend to Gulfport in November to honor military, veterans

Marine and Stetson University College of Law LL.M. student Javier Centonzio, who graduated with his J.D. in May, is again coordinating a Heroes Weekend community event to honor active duty members of the military and veterans on Nov. 10-11 in Gulfport.

LL.M. Student Javier Centonzio addresses the crowd at the Stetson Veterans Law Institute opening May 31 in Guflport. — LL.M. Student Javier Centonzio addresses the crowd at the Stetson Veterans Law Institute opening May 31 in Gulfport.

This year’s public events include a parade along Beach Blvd. in Gulfport, an afternoon beach volleyball benefit with music, food and drink on Gulfport Beach, and an evening musical performance at the Gulfport Casino to benefit Stetson’s new Veterans Law Institute and Paws for Patriots. The Heroes Weekend includes:

Saturday, Nov. 10, 4 p.m.: The City of Gulfport is sponsoring a parade along Beach Blvd. led by Army Lt. Col. Kathy Champion, an Afghanistan and Iraq War veteran and Gulfport native who received a service dog from the Paws for Patriots program. The parade will head south on Beach Blvd. from the Gulfport Public Library, turn right at the Gulfport Casino onto Shore Blvd. and end at the Recreation Center. For information on participating in the parade, contact Justin Shea with the City of Gulfport at 727-893-1118 or [email protected]. The deadline to register is Nov. 8.

Sunday, Nov. 11, 1 p.m.: Community members are invited to a beach volleyball benefit with music, food and drink on Gulfport Beach. At 5:30 p.m., the Steel Horse Band will be performing a benefit concert at the Gulfport Casino at 5500 Shore Blvd. S. with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and the show beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets for the concert are available at the door and all proceeds from the ticket sales will go to charity. To purchase tickets in advance for $10, visit the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce or American Legion Post 125.

For additional event information, contact Javier Centonzio at [email protected] or call 913-706-9340.

Donations to Heroes Weekend may be mailed or delivered in person to the American Legion Post 125, 6440 5th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33707.

Paws for Patriots is a program designed to pair guide dogs with veterans. Stetson’s Veterans Law Institute, dedicated in May, serves as a center for veteran and military scholarship, the site of Stetson’s Veterans Advocacy Clinic, and provides continuing legal education for attorneys representing veterans as well as a focal point for student veterans and their pro bono related activities.

Saving hundreds of acres in the Western Everglades was the topic of Oct. 30 biodiversity lecture

Conserving wetlands and endangered wood stork habitat in the Western Everglades was the topic of Stetson University College of Law’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture on Oct. 30. The lecture by Jan Goldman-Carter, National Wildlife Federation wetlands and water resources counsel, was the last in the series this semester at Stetson Law in Gulfport.

Jan Goldman-Carter discusses a conservation effort to save critical word stork habitat in the Western Everglades. — Jan Goldman-Carter discussed a conservation effort to save critical wood stork habitat in the Western Everglades.

Goldman-Carter outlined how she worked with conservation groups for nearly a decade to save hundreds of acres of wetlands and wood stork habitat in the Cocohatchee Slough, flowing from the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the Western Everglades. The Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the Naples area is the largest wood stork rookery in the U.S.

“We’re losing these areas because of development,” said Goldman-Carter.

When developers wanted to build a golf course community that threatened 1100 acres of wetlands including critical endangered wood stork habitat, five conservation groups including the NWF worked successfully to save hundreds of acres.

Goldman-Carter said that the key ingredients of the successful conservation effort included solid science and public information, a strong legal framework, scientific expertise, and solid partnerships with local landowners, the news media, environmental watchdogs and grassroots advocates.

Stetson’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series brings leading experts to campus to speak on a range of environmental topics. The lecture series is co-sponsored by Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy and is free and open to the public.

Visit the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson to learn more.

Body of Evidence’s Dayle Hinman presented at Stetson Law in Gulfport on Oct. 31

Stetson University College of Law’s National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law presented criminal profiler, Body of Evidence host Dayle Hinman on Oct. 31. The event was co-sponsored by Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.

Dayle Hinman spoke at Stetson Law on Halloween.

Her afternoon talk, “The Devil is in the Details: Criminal Profiling from an Investigator’s Perspective,” brought a crowd of more than 100 to Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus.

Hinman, who served in law enforcement in Florida for close to 30 years, is the subject of the TruTV documentary, Body of Evidence. She discussed her investigative work on a number of high-profile crimes and the impact of the media and television on public perceptions of criminal profiling work.

“The purpose of television crime drama is to entertain, not to inform,” Hinman said. She explained that investigating a real crime scene is a painstakingly slow process, contrary to the quick crime-solving that happens on television.

“As profilers, we analyze the crime scene,” said Hinman. “We look at all of the available data to propose a theory or narrative. Let the crime scene tell the story.”

One of few women in the field of criminal homicide investigation, Hinman has successfully worked on cases including Ted Bundy, Danny Rolling and Aileen Wuornos. A court-certified expert in crime scene assessment, Hinman lectures across the country and around the world on topics ranging from criminal profiling and crime scene analysis to catching serial killers.

The National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law, directed by Stetson Law Professor Carol Henderson, provides a database of forensic science, technology and evidence to scientists, legal professionals, law enforcement, academics and the public.

Alumnus discusses finding his niche in the law

On Oct. 16, alumnus and adjunct professor Josh Magidson ’80 talked with students about finding his niche in the law. Magidson, a Marine who once entertained dreams of playing professional baseball and worked as a rehabilitation counselor, became a student at Stetson Law in 1978.

Josh Magidson talked with students on Oct. 16. — Josh Magidson ’80 talked with students on Oct. 16.

“Everybody has their own way of finding themselves in what they do,” Magidson told the students who gathered at a luncheon program in Stetson’s Florin Roebig Courtroom in Gulfport to hear him speak.

He explained how his legal career evolved from clerking while he was in law school to working in business litigation and becoming an attorney with the Tampa Bay area law firm of Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen P.A.

Magidson stressed the importance of good communication skills with clients, among colleagues and presenting before judges. Make your arguments in the courtroom as concise and succinct as your elevator pitch, Magidson said.

He shared an important lesson from his career as a litigator.

“If you have a really good point, get to it quickly,” said Magidson.

Magidson told the students, “One of your jobs as a lawyer is to get your clients from where they are to where they want to be.”

Stetson Law’s Career Development office and LexisNexis co-sponsored the presentation. Workshops for students on building communication and social media skills and developing a career network are planned on campus in the coming weeks.

Alumnus speaks with Stetson Law students about finding their focus as advocates

Alumnus Chris Sprowls ’09 spoke with Stetson Law students on Oct. 10 about finding their focus as advocates as part of Stetson’s Student Leadership Development Luncheon series.

Chris Sprowls spoke with students in the Great Hall at the Student Leadership Luncheon on Oct. 10. — Alumnus Chris Sprowls ’09 spoke with students in the Great Hall during the Student Leadership Development Luncheon on Oct. 10.

Sprowls is an assistant state attorney in the 6th Judicial Circuit serving Pasco and Pinellas counties.

While still students at Stetson Law, Sprowls and Vilma Martinez ’09 worked with the American Bar Association to create a national veterans’ service initiative called Duty Bound. The goal of Duty Bound was to create a network of attorneys and law students to provide pro bono legal services to veterans in need through law school clinics.

As a Stetson student, Sprowls received the Edward D. Foreman Most Distinguished Student Award, was a member of both the Moot Court Board and Trial Team, was elected national chairman of the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association, and served with the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. Martinez was the ABA Law Student Division liaison to the Legal Assistance for Military Personnel committee.

Stetson Law launched its Veterans Law Institute in May 2012, home to the Veterans Advocacy Clinic. Stetson’s Veterans Advocacy Clinic provides representation to veterans seeking government benefits as well as those appealing decisions denying benefits. To learn more, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/veterans/

Veterans Law CLE at Stetson’s Tampa Law Center on Oct. 27

Stetson University College of Law and the Florida Bar will host a Veterans Law Accreditation Training program at the Tampa Law Center, 1700 N. Tampa St., on Oct. 27. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

The program provides legal practitioners with an overview of veterans law, a field that responds to the unique legal challenges faced by military veterans.

Judge Robert N. Davis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C., will present the keynote address, “Fighting Wars Abroad and at Home.”

Session topics include claims procedures processing and investigations; appeals of Veterans Administration decisions; dependency and indemnity compensation; and military sexual assaults, responses and disabilities.

Kathryn Yates, the chair of the Florida Bar Military Affairs Committee, will present the 2012 Clayton Burton Award during the program, which honors those who demonstrate character and leadership in promoting the quality of legal services furnished to military personnel serving in Florida.

Stetson recently opened its Veterans Law Institute as a center for veteran and military scholarship and the site of Stetson’s Veterans Advocacy Clinic. The institute also provides continuing legal education for attorneys representing veterans and serves as a focal point for student veterans and related pro bono service.

Stetson University was named among the 2013 list of Military Friendly Schools and participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program to make college affordable to veterans.

Visit the seminar website to view the agenda or to register for this CLE.

St. Petersburg Bar and Stetson Law presented ethics and professionalism seminar

Stetson University College of Law hosted a continuing legal education program on Oct. 9 on “Ethics and Professionalism: Practicing Within the Letter and the Spirit of the Law.” The St. Petersburg Bar Association co-presented the program with Stetson.

(L-R): Visiting Professor Rachel VanLandingham, Professor Charles Rose and Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz at the St. Petersburg Bar seminar on ethics. — (L-R): Visiting Professor Rachel VanLandingham, Professor Charles Rose and Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz at the St. Petersburg Bar seminar on ethics and professionalism.

Stetson Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz and St. Petersburg Bar Association president Timothy Miller introduced the program for practicing attorneys, which included discussions by attorney and alumnus James Thaler ’00, Stetson Law Professor Charles H. Rose III and Visiting Professor Rachel VanLandingham.

Stetson Law students also had an opportunity to attend the program to learn more about building professional goals.

Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series presented “Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition” on Oct. 9

On Oct. 9 at 12 p.m., Stetson Law’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series presented a discussion with Carlton Ward Jr. about the discovery and implications of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Ward Jr. is a conservation photographer and founder of the Legacy Institute for Nature and Culture.

Carlton Ward Jr. & Joe Guthrie, Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition. Photo courtesy Carlton Ward Jr., CarltonWard.com

Ward Jr. discussed his experiences with the “Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition,” a 100-day, 1,000-mile trek from the Everglades National Park in Florida to the Okefenoke National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Georgia.

The expedition via kayak, mountain bike and horseback led to the discovery of a viable natural corridor for wildlife through the Florida peninsula.

“There is still a ribbon of green land that you can connect through the state,” said Ward Jr.

The Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy and Environmental Law Society at Stetson co-sponsored the event in the Great Hall, at Stetson Law in Gulfport, 1401 61st St. S.

The next biodiversity lecture is scheduled for Oct. 30.

Conviction Integrity Unit founder talked at Stetson Law on Oct. 10 about ethical prosecutions

Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins, founder of the Conviction Integrity Unit, talked with Stetson University College of Law students on Oct. 10 about the importance of just prosecution. Approximately 200 law students gathered to hear Watkins’ talk in the Great Hall on the Gulfport campus.

Dallas D.A. Craig Watkins spoke at Stetson Law on Oct. 10. — Dallas D.A. Craig Watkins spoke to Stetson Law students on Oct. 10.

“You in this room have a responsibility to look at your justice system,” Watkins told the law students. “Think about how you can improve the system and make it work better.”

Watkins’ Conviction Integrity Unit works to exonerate innocent people from prison and to identify previously unknown criminals using DNA and other evidence. Watkins set an example for integrity and professionalism as a prosecutor when he publicly apologized for a wrongful conviction in his own district.

“My job is not to convict, my job is to seek justice,” said Watkins.

He reminded the law students in the audience to make a difference when they enter the legal profession.

“Those innocent people who find themselves on the wrong side of the law who did not commit a crime–your jobs as lawyers are to right those wrongs,” said Watkins.

Watkins’ talk, “The Dallas Conviction Integrity Unit: Prosecutorial Accountability in Action,” was co-sponsored by the Innocence Initiative at Stetson, the American Civil Liberties Union, and supported by the Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Fund.

Students participating in the Innocence Initiative at Stetson work with faculty and pro bono attorneys investigating cases of individuals claiming to be innocent, conduct research on issues related to wrongful convictions, and raise awareness about reforms needed in the criminal legal system.