Check That Off My Bucket List: SMU Dedman Law 校友 at SCOTUS

2022年11月16日|阿什利·埃利斯

“法律面前人人平等.” Standing at the bottom of the steep marble stairs looking up at the stately building beyond which bears that inscription was, 对我们很多当时在场的人来说, 一个真正的遗愿清单时刻. The sun shining through the clouds and gleaming off the classical Corinthian columns perfectly matched the mood of the morning.

Eleven SMU 戴德曼法学院 alumni and the school’s dean were sworn in before the Supreme Court in a live ceremony before all nine justices. The movant supporting their applications for admission was G. Michael Gruber (’81) who has argued before the high court twice, and the applicants were James L. 鲍德温(86年)，Vicki D. [J]. 布鲁斯(95年)，乔丹C. 坎贝尔(2013年)，阿什利L. 库克(2000年)，克莱门特·奥西梅萨(1995年)，艾米·N. 詹妮弗·L·欧斯汀(2000年. Ryback (2010)， David C. 舒尔特(2002年)，霍普C. Shimabuku(2005)和Clay G. 斯莫尔(1975年)，与杰森·P. 南大戴德曼法学院法官詹姆斯·诺埃尔·迪恩.

在宣誓就职仪式之后, the group heard oral arguments in two related cases regarding whether targets of a federal agency’s enforcement action may challenge its structure or processes in a federal district court or must first proceed through the applicable agency’s administrative process.

艾米·欧斯汀(2000年), 在辩论开始前宣誓就职, 鉴于她的监管经验，她有独特的视角吗.

Noting that the justices’ comments and questions ranged from whether it makes sense for a claim challenging the structure of an agency to go through the administrative process in the first instance (Justice Samuel Alito) to an expression of questioning why the Court should permit interference in agency proceedings at all (Justice Sonia Sotomayor), Osteen观察:

“It was fascinating watching the justices dig into the inherent jurisdictional tension between Article III courts and the administrative processes established by agencies such as the FTC/SEC. Justice Stephen Breyer asked tough questions that cut straight to the core of the dispute. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson posed probing, clear hypotheticals. And the sophisticated yet playful banter between Justice Neil Gorsuch and Deputy Solicitor General Malcom Stewart would have made me burst into laughter if I wasn’t so in awe of my surroundings.在她看来, several of the justices “appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs and maybe even inclined to make it easier to challenge the regulatory power of federal agencies in disputes involving the FTC and the SEC.”

While the decision in these cases will no doubt cause dissension among administrative law practitioners and scholars, 与最高法院审理的大多数案件一致, it is unlikely that this particular decision will resonate more widely. Does this lessen the importance of these cases or diminish the role of the Supreme Court? 当然不是.

The responses to this experience as shared by these SMU 戴德曼法学院 alumni show that quite the contrary is true. 正如预期的, lawyers and others connected to the legal profession reacted to the news of the swearing-in ceremony and the posts sharing the experience of attending oral argument with an outpouring of congratulatory remarks evidencing all due respect and awe for the occasion. 库克称这一天“令人难忘”, 神奇的体验,鲍德温和舒尔特同意了, 每个人都说这是“一生难得的机会”.” Osteen further captured what many of us present were thinking: “It was like being on the 50-yard line at the Super Bowl. 但更好的.”

The enormity of the day was not lost on the general public either. Blanton shared a post and photo of herself in front of SCOTUS on LinkedIn that had nearly 26,000 views: “The look you give after your name is called in these hallowed halls and you’re sworn into the highest court in the land … and then, after noticing that you are the only Black woman lawyer in the room, 杰克逊法官在长凳上对你微笑.”

旅行结束后, Blanton further reflected: “Regardless of the attorney jokes and the notoriety of the bad actors, people still hold the judicial branch of government in the highest of esteem. That truly is as inspiring as the swearing-in experience itself.”

There will be many trips to the Supreme Court for SMU Dedman Law alumni in the coming years.

“We planned the SCOTUS swearing-in ceremony trip over the course of two and a half years. 由于COVID的延误，它被重新计划了几次. 然而, 这绝对值得等待, and we will be making this special event an annual tradition. 这是一次巨大的成功, judging from the fact that all 12 spots for the meaningful swearing-in ceremony and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see arguments before the Court were filled within minutes,克里斯汀·莱瑟贝里说, 行政助理院长, chief of staff and the immediate-past director of alumni relations, 谁负责协调录取仪式.

“We are already looking forward to next year’s swearing-in ceremony and sharing this inspiring experience with more of our esteemed attorneys,”南希说。.

Ashley Ellis is the director of alumni relations at SMU 戴德曼法学院. 阿什莉92年毕业于新加坡管理大学，成绩为B.A. in political science cum laude and a ’95 graduate of SMU Law graduating cum laude. 在回到母校之前, Ashley enjoyed a distinguished career representing corporate entities in complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization proceedings, 最近一次是在福利学院.

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