The Nineteenth Annual Justice William J. Brennan Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice
"Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Legal System Falls Short in Protecting Basic Rights"
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge, 40 Washington Square South, New York, NY
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The Honorable Wallace B. Jefferson, Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, will deliver the lecture. |
Wallace Jefferson was appointed chief justice September 14, 2004, by Gov. Rick Perry. He succeeded former Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips as the 26th chief justice in Texas.
Chief Justice Jefferson served in 2010-11 as president of the Conference of Chief Justices, an association of chief justices from the 50 states and U.S. territories. As president, Chief Justice Jefferson chaired the National Center for State Courts board of directors, a policy and resource organization in Williamsburg, Va.
Governor Perry first appointed Jefferson to the Court in March 2001. He was elected in November 2002 before becoming chief justice in 2004.
Jefferson joined the Court from private practice in San Antonio. As a partner in the appellate-specialty firm Crofts, Callaway & Jefferson, he successfully argued two cases before the United States Supreme Court. He is a graduate of the James Madison College at Michigan State University and the University of Texas School of Law.
Chief Justice Jefferson is a member of the American Law Institute and is certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He was San Antonio Bar Association president in 1998-99 and was the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer in 1997.
He received the "Pillars of the Foundation" award by the North Side Independent School District and is the namesake for the Wallace B. Jefferson Middle School in San Antonio. He has served as a director of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, of the Alamo Area Big Brothers/Big Sisters and on the education committee of the San Antonio Area Foundation.
His appointment as chief justice was confirmed unanimously by the Texas Senate on March 9, 2005. He was elected chief justice in 2006 and re-elected to a full term in 2008. His term ends December 31, 2014.
He and his wife, Rhonda, have three sons, William Douglas, Samuel Lewis, and Michael Andrew.
http://www.law.nyu.edu//centers/judicial/programs/18thannualbrennanlecture/index.htm