Faculty & Staff Achievements

Judges’ Photos Bring History to Moot Court Room

“As the centenary of the University of San Francisco School of Law approaches in the fall of 2012, we are proud to honor the nearly 300 alumni appointed judges in the state and federal courts,” Dean Jeffrey Brand said. “They have had and continue to have a dramatic influence on the state of the law. Collectively, these judges are emblematic of all that we strive to do—skilled, ethical professionals who serve the interests of society.”

Alumni judges’ photos span from the Class of 1916 to alumni serving on the bench today. Among the photos are Associate Justice Ming Chin, the first Chinese American to serve on the California Supreme Court, and Hon. Agnes O’Brien Smith ’41, who served on the Municipal Court of the City and County of San Francisco from 1970 to 1978 and was the first woman named to the American Board of Trial Advocates.

The reaction of students seeing those who came before them is inspiring, said Senior Director of Administration Blake Grenier, who is leading the project. Assistant Professor of Legal Writing Edith Ho teaches in the Moot Court Room and echoed this sentiment. She said many of her students were impressed with the number of USF alumni on the bench.

The law school called upon Michelle Hill, an interior architect at EHDD Architecture who helped design the Moot Court Room in 2003, to determine the best approach to framing and positioning the photos. As additional alumni become judges, new photos will be added, making the project a living wall of history.

There are nearly 300 USF law alumni who have become judges and approximately 185 alumni photos on display in the Moot Court Room.

If you are an alumnus or alumna judge whose name and/or photo is missing from our archive, please send your contact information and a high-resolution, black-and-white photo to the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at lawalumni@usfca.edu or 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117.

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