Historic School of Law Dinner Celebrates Chief Justice John Roberts
More than 1,700 guests gathered in the Grand Ballroom at the
Hollywood and Highland Center on Feb. 2 to celebrate Pepperdine University
School of Law's 31st Annual Dinner and distinguished speaker, The Honorable
John G. Roberts, Jr., chief justice of the United States.
Roberts received one of Pepperdine's highest honors—the Robert H. Jackson Award, which honors individuals who personify outstanding public service in the law. Roberts called the award especially meaningful to him because of his connection to Justice Jackson, who served on the Supreme Court from 1941 to 1954, through the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Rehnquist was a law clerk to Jackson and Roberts served as a law clerk to Rehnquist. After Rehnquist died in 2005, Roberts succeeded him as chief justice.
For the dinner address, Roberts spoke on the life and principles of Jackson, the nature of oral advocacy, and the higher purpose of law. In addition to the Chief Justice’s remarks, the evening's program included a report of recent School of Law activities and accomplishments by School of Law dean Ken Starr and announcement of awards, including the "1L Professor of the Year" award to Professor Tony Miller and the "2L and 3L Professor of the Year" to Professor Janet Kerr.
Earlier in the day, Roberts served as a judge for the final round of the
34th annual Vincent S. Dalsimer Moot Court Competition. The intraschool
competition distilled 24 teams down to two for the final round, comprising
students Joshua Snead and Mary Huebert on behalf of the petitioners, and Mat
Groseclose and Amanda Main for the respondents. Student argued a competition
problem written by third-year student Laura Hock. Serving on the bench was The
Honorable Ricardo H. Hinojosa, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Texas, and The Honorable Edith Hollan Jones, chief judge, U.S. Court of
Appeals, Fifth Circuit, in addition to the chief justice.
The
award for First Place Team was announced at the dinner and given to Joshua
Snead and Mary Huebert. Huebert noted, "As a student who wants to be an
appellate lawyer, I know how very fortunate I am to have Dean Starr and other
faculty members as mentors throughout my time in law school. Being able to
argue in front of such a distinguished panel, particularly in front of Chief
Justice Roberts, was the perfect culmination of my experiences here. It was a
future appellate lawyer’s dream."
In his critique following the arguments, Roberts said the students showed the hallmarks of good appellate advocacy: mastery of the record and flexibility in answering questions from the bench. He later noted, "I’d like to congratulate all those who participated in the moot court program for a cause well argued and a competition well staged."
Roberts' visit continues Pepperdine's distinctive tradition of hosting Supreme Court justices. Both Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito have taught at the School in the past year, and Justice Alito will return to teach this year. The late Justice Byron White, retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and current Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas have been previous speakers at the law school dinner.
