Athens, GA. – The former Supreme Court of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Leah Ward Sears, will give the lecture on Susette M. Talarico at the University of Georgia on September 20 at 4 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room in Dean Rusk Hall.
The lecture is sponsored by the Uga School of Public and International Affairs' Department of Political Science and the Program for Criminal Justice Studies and is a Blue Card event.
Sears became the first woman and the youngest person who ever served in front of Georgia's Supreme Court when she was appointed in 1992. There she headed the Commission for Children, before and family law, which deals with the legal and administrative questions that arise from the increasing fragmentation of the families of Georgia. It was also significantly involved in the formation of the Committee on Civil Justice, an organization that develops, coordinates and supports political initiatives in order to expand access to the courts for residents with low income.
In 2005, Sears again wrote history as the first African -American Supreme Judge in the United States when she was sworn in as the Head of the Supreme Court of Georgia. There she served until her retirement from the bank in 2009.
“It is an honor for us that Leah Ward Sears will give this year's Talarico lecture,” said John A. Malteser, head of the Ministry of Policy. “She is a trail blazer and a role model with a wealth of experience on both sides of the bank.”
Sears was born in Heidelberg and spent her formative years in Savannah, GA. She received her bachelor's degree at Cornell University, her juris doctor from Emory University and a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law. She started her legal career at the law firm Alston & Bird and then left private practice to start a career in the public service as a judge at the Atlanta city traffic court. At the age of 32, she was elected in front of Fulton County's highest court.
At the moment, Sear's partner of the law firm Schiff Hardin and the respected family member at the Institute for American values, a private, non -profit, non -participating research institution is currently.
The Talarico lecture is made possible by a fund that was created for the honor of the long -time Uga professor Susette Talarico, who was more than three decades of faculty at UGA. Talarico was Albert Berry Saye professor of American government and constitutional law as well as a respected apprenticeship professor of Josiah Meigs. She was director of the priority for criminal justice for 22 years.
A reception will follow the lecture, which is free of charge and open to the public. Further information is available at 706/542-7079.
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