The University of Georgia School of Law recently unveiled the portrait of its first Black graduate, the late Chester C. Davenport, and the painting will hang in the law school’s iconic rotunda that bears his name. “Today we honor the first,” Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge said at the event. “When future students following in Chester’s footsteps enter these halls for the first time, they [will] forever see Chester’s name. They [will] forever see Chester’s portrait. They [will] forever know that they belong here just like Chester did and just like Chester does now.”
Congratulations to third-year students Lindsey K. Adams, D. Briana Barnett and Nia N. Waller for finishing as national finalists in the 16th Annual Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition. Instructor Joe Lester served as coach. He was assisted by 2021 alumna Joi A. Siler.
During the 2021-22 academic year, more than 435 School of Law students enrolled in one of the school's 17 clinic/externship programs and cumulatively engaged in 94,129 service-learning hours. Nearly 28,000 of those hours occurred under the direct supervision of law school faculty members directing in-house clinical programs – all of which provide access to justice services for underrepresented communities and individuals.
The Criminal Defense Practicum, in partnership with the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office and the Southern Center for Human Rights, secured a full acquittal for its client facing a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Practicum Director Elizabeth Taxel served as lead counsel throughout the nine-day trial in DeKalb County Superior Court. Third-year students Charles A. "Charlie" McKeown and Hailey S. Laurie provided ongoing trial support alongside administrative assistant Jessie Des Jardines, who created the trial’s exhibits and demonstratives.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sexual Abuse Victims Act of 2022, which eliminates the statute of limitations for a variety of federal civil claims, such as the sexual abuse of a minor and sexual exploitation of children. To help child sexual abuse survivors and their advocates, the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic – which is the first of its kind in the nation – has created a resource guide explaining common questions about the new law that can be found on the clinic's website.