1. 2007-2008 Year In Review:
PHOTO ESSAY
OCU LAW and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of
Terrorism teamed up to bring author John Robb (right, with
OCU LAW Professor Marc Blitz) to present a lecture titled
“The Next Stage of Terrorism Has Already Begun” in the
Homsey Family Moot Courtroom on Sept. 12, 2007. Robb is
the author of Brand New War: The Next Stage of Terrorism and
the End of Globalization. The event was a follow up to OCU
LAW and MIPT’s spring conference on counterterrorism.
OCU LAW celebrated its annual Alumni Weekend Oct.
5-7, 2007 in conjunction with the Centennial Head of the
Oklahoma Regatta at the Oklahoma River. OCU LAW
honored the classes of 1957, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987,
1997, 2002 and 2006. The class of 1977 (pictured) held its
Reunion Dinner at the home of alumnus Tom Beadles. The
weekend offered alumni a chance to get CLE credit, as well as
the first annual OCU LAW Alumni Golf Classic and a dinner
and reception at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.
Justice Robert P. Young, Jr., of the Michigan Supreme Court,
delivered the 2007 Brennan Lecture on Oct. 18, 2007 in the
Homsey Family Moot Courtroom at. The lecture was titled
“The Problem of Oligarchic Judicial Power: A State Judicial
Traditionalist’s Perspective.” Every year the Brennan Lecture
brings renowned speakers from all over the country to talk
about issues relating to state and local government.

2. READ MORE:
Find out more about events at OCU LAW at the OCU LAW Blog:
http://www.okcu.edu/law/blog
Mickey Edwards ’70, a former Congressman, spoke in the
Homsey Family Moot Courtroom Nov. 6, 2007, as well as to
the Annual OCU LAW Alumni Luncheon at the Oklahoma
Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in downtown Oklahoma
City. The title of his remarks was “Does the Constitution
Matter Anymore? Separation of Powers in the New Century.”
After the controversial suspension of Pakistan’s constitution
and firing of its chief judges and a number of other appellate
judges and lawyers, OCU LAW Dean Lawrence K. Hellman
and a group of faculty, students and staff held a series of silent
vigils on Nov. 14, 2007 to call for a return to the rule of law
in the country. The vigils were the subject of coverage in the
Daily Oklahoman and on local television news.
Harland Stonecipher (left), the founder and CEO of Pre-Paid
Legal Services, Inc., spoke to OCU LAW students Nov. 15
2007, in the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom. Stonecipher’s
presentation, which was sponsored by OCU LAW Merit
Scholars and Dean Lawrence K. Hellman, was titled “Justice
For All: Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.”

3. YEAR IN REVIEW
OCU LAW Distinguished Lecturer in Law and OCU General
Counsel delivered the Winter 2007 Commencement Address
Dec. 15, 2007 in the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel. Conger
also serves as President of the Oklahoma Bar Association.
U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor (pictured)
and Stephen Breyer spoke at OCU LAW’s “Hail to the Chiefs”
dinner Jan. 21, 2008, honoring the Judges of the U.S. Tenth
Circuit Court of Appeals and former OCU LAW Dean
Robert H. Henry, who took over in January 2008 as Chief
Judge of the Tenth Circuit. The dinner also honored OCU
LAW’s McAfee and Taft Jurist-in-Residence Michael Daly
Hawkins and Dean Zuo Haicong of Nankai University School
of Law in Tianjin, China, both of whom were visiting that
week (see related stories, pages 8 & 11).
The Honorable Michael Daly Hawkins of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was OCU LAW’s inaugural
McAfee-Taft Jurist in Residence. While at OCU LAW
Hawkins presented a public lecture titled “The Federal Grand
Jury: Fish, Fowl or Fair Weather Game?” on Jan. 22, 2008.
He also was a guest speaker in law school classes, conducted
a workshop with the law faculty, and met with students to
discuss the appellate proceedings of the Tenth Circuit taking
place at OCU during his stay.

4. YEAR IN REVIEW
The Public Interest Law Group held its first annual “Meet Me
Halfway at the Santa Fe” auction at the Santa Fe Train Depot
in downtown Oklahoma City on March 6, 2008 to raise money
for the Dean’s Public Interest Summer Fellowships which allow
students to spend summers working with government and
nonprofit agencies. The auction, which featured award-winning
auctioneer and OCU LAW alumnus Kevin Sain ’98, raised over
$12,000 and featured a number of items donated by members
of the OCU LAW community. The second annual auction is
scheduled for March 6, 2009.
Yale Law professor and election law expert Heather Gerken
delivered the 2008 Quinlan Lecture in the Homsey Family
Moot Courtroom April 3, 2008. The lecture, titled “Getting
From Here To There in Election Reform,” advocated the
creation of a national “democracy index” to rank states and
counties in their election performance.
OCU LAW awarded the juris doctor degree to 147 graduates
on May 17, 2008 in a ceremony at the Oklahoma City Civic
Center. The event was highlighted by a processional, accompa-
nied by the Pipes and Drums of the Highlanders of Oklahoma
City, remarks from SBA president Christopher Colby Papin,
remarks from class president Gregory Dale Winningham and a
commencement address given by Stephanie K. Seymour, senior
judge of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. •