Judge Robert Hinkle slated to speak to winter graduates
Northern Federal District of Florida Judge Robert Hinkle is scheduled to speak to College of Law graduates Saturday, December 14. Judge Hinkle's presentation will be made before an unusually large group of forty-seven winter graduates in the Opperman Music Hall.
Judge Hinkle was born in Apalachicola, Florida and completed his undergraduate work at FSU in 1972. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1976. He served as law clerk for the Hon. Irving Goldberg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, from 1976-1977 and practiced with a firm in Tallahassee from 1978-96. Judge Hinkle was an adjunct professor of law at the FSU law school in 1981.
Judge Hinkle was nominated by President Clinton on June 6, 1996, to fill the judicial seat vacated by William H. Stafford, Jr., U. S. District Court, Northern District of Florida. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 25 and received commission on August 1 that same year.
The graduation ceremony will begin at 3:00 p.m.
We congratulate the following students who will be graduating:
| Adams, Barbara Agostino, Joseph K Andres, Jorge Ardelean, Sorin Atkinson, John A Atlee, Laura C Aungst, Matthew Barfield, David E Blackshear, Matthew Carrillo, Luis I Colter, Thomas L Cunningham, James C Denencourt, Heath Dobson, Stephanie C Domeier, Shannon E Fernandez, John R |
Frank, Patric Freeburg, Nathan P Glenn, Colleen M Goldstein, Vicky L Harris, Alice F Havers, Walter J Holloway, Jonathan T Hurley, John Kemp, David A Kemper, Kyle L Laga, Allison Langley, Daniel W Lynch, Thomas M Maitin, Christine |
Marsh, Crystal J McDonald, Morgan T McGraw, Andrew E McKay, Shelly A Nguyen, Truong Q Perez, Michelle M Perkins, Martha E Poncy, Alison E Russo, John S Santiago, Steve D Shelton, Joy L Slate, Matthew E St. John, Susan Vega, Carlos A Vinson, Matthew D Willis, Carrie |
Jennifer Dixon is Best Oralist at Broad and Cassel Final Four Competition
Before announcing the winner of the 2002 Broad and Cassel Final Four Moot Court Competition November 7, Florida Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead offered a qualifier. "You four are obviously the cream-of-the-crop in the law school, and it will be very difficult for us to say that one of you is 'the best.'" He continued, "Your level of preparedness was just outstanding, and that is something that we appreciate in the cases we hear." In the end, however, Jennifer Dixon took home the coveted Best Oralist honors at the competition.
Dixon, along with Daniel Norris argued as respondent, while Brandon Cathey and Michael Rowan argued for petitioner, in a case that involved the custody of frozen embryos. The biological father in the case wanted to destroy the embryos that he created with his deceased wife. The deceased wife's parents sought custody of the embryos.
The 2002 competition was heard by all of the justices of the Florida Supreme Court. After the arguments, Chief Justice Anstead made remarks to the audience on behalf of the entire Supreme Court. He said that the justices were unanimous in saying that all four participants performed like champions.
Justice Anstead thanked each of the participants for the effort required to reach the Final Four, and he extended thanks to family and friends for supporting them in the competition. "We are always expected to offer you advice about things you could do better-that would be difficult for us. But, I will say that you always need to consider the weakest aspects of your argument as you go through your preparations, because both the judges and your adversaries will be doing that," he concluded.
After the competition, Moot Court members, justices and friends gathered in the D'Alemberte Rotunda for a reception, where Broad and Cassel managing partner Steve Turner made the Best Oralist presentation to Dixon.
Mock Trial Team takes home national title
The College of Law Mock Trial Team won its second national championship November 9 at Michigan State University. The championship team of advocates Masheika Allen, Bruce Bullock, Linda Noel and Roxanne Rehm competed against law schools from across the nation in the Detroit College of Law Third Annual National Trial Advocacy Competition. More than 130 judges and attorneys participated in judging the competition, which included schools from as far away as California and New York.
The four-person Florida State team is comprised of advocates who also act as witnesses. The prosecution team advocates were Bruce Bullock and Masheika Allen, and defense advocates were Roxanne Rehm and Linda Noel. Each advocate also acts as a witness for the opposite side of the team.
The team, which was coached by attorneys Kathy Ray and Sandra Coulter, defeated teams from Widener, William and Mary, and University of Florida, among others, and defeated Southern Methodist University in the final round of the competition.
The championship round, a murder trial, lasted for almost four hours and was argued before the Honorable Mary Ann Bettani, federal court judge. Roxanne Rehm and Linda Noel advocated as defense in the final round, with Bruce Bullock and Masheika Allen as witnesses.
Mock Trial Team wins in Florida, too
The FSU Mock Trial Team won the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Annual Mock Trial Competition state title November 9 and 10 in West Palm Beach. The team of Diane Barnes, Eddie Lopez, Kelly Parsons, and Toni Wortherly competed against other Florida law schools.
The Florida State team defeated teams from University of Miami, Barry University, as well as the nation's number-one ranked trial advocacy school, Stetson University. The team advanced to the final round of the competition against Florida Coastal. The FSU team, coached by attorney Kyle Mitchell and Professor Ruth Stone, successfully defeated Florida Coastal in the final round to win the competition.
In addition to winning the competition, two FSU advocates received special recognition with "Best Advocate" awards. Diane Barnes won "Best Advocate" for the preliminary competition rounds, and Kelly Parsons won "Best Advocate" for the final competition rounds. The competition was judged by attorneys and judges from across Florida, and was sponsored by the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers.
Alumnus, Ken Lawson, discusses Department of Treasury's role in combating terrorist financing
According to Ken Lawson, Assistant Secretary of Enforcement with the Department of the Treasury, prevention is the best strategy for combating terrorist financing, both domestically and internationally. "Our view is that money that makes it into the hands of terrorists is money that kills. If we make it difficult for them to move money around the world, or to raise money, then we are saving lives," he said to a large law school audience on November 8. "We've made some important steps in the right direction, but this will be a marathon not a sprint-we won't stop until every last dollar is rendered useless to those who would seek to destroy us or our friends and allies abroad."
Fighting terrorism internationally is difficult, said Lawson, because Al Qaida cells of operation are believed to be present in as many as sixty countries worldwide. "You're often looking at different legal regimes for many of these countries," he said. "They haven't enacted anti-terrorist financing, money laundering or asset forfeiture legislation." Lawson said that in some cases where countries do not have laws set up to block financial activities, there are United Nations sanctions that have been established that give them that authority. Also, the Department of the Treasury has sent out teams of lawyers, accountants, and other specialists to aid countries in drafting new laws.
Lawson continued, saying that on September 23, President Bush issued an executive order declaring a national emergency regarding acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists against the United States. This executive order has provided the Department of Treasury broad powers to block the transactions of those named under the order. "Since September 24, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has blocked the assets of 210 entities and individuals and $34 million has been frozen here in the U.S."
Countries around the globe have been helpful in the Treasury Department's fight, Lawson said. One hundred sixty-six countries have taken action to block terrorists' assets he told his audience. "Our preventative measures involve close communications and financial coordination with our allies in targeting terrorist activities. Secretary [Paul] O'Neill and I have traveled significantly, developing personal relationships with our counterparts abroad, so that the fight against terrorism is successful."
Lawson is a 1991 graduate of the College of Law. He was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Enforcement in the Department of the Treasury in 2002.
Scenes from Homecoming 2002 . . .
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and other law school-related events
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Christian Legal Society sponsors "giving" drive
Christian Legal Society (CLS) is sponsoring a holiday assistance project, targeting FSU law students with families who, because of financial hardship, are in need of support during the upcoming holiday seasons. The CLS project will assist with purchasing food for Thanksgiving dinner, along with buying gifts for Christmas. Seven families have expressed a need. Faculty members and staff can participate in two ways. First, monetary donations will be used to purchase gift certificates at local supermarkets. Secondly, individual gifts can be purchased based upon a "needs" list, or a party may choose to be responsible for an individual child's "want" list. Students are set up at a table in the atrium to answer questions, or contact CLS board president Jessica Sage.
WebNews is published every other Wednesday (with the exception of the summer months) on the College of Law website by the Florida State College of Law Communication Office. The next edition will be posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2003.
Deadline for the next WebNews is Monday, January 13, 2003
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