Excerpts of speech by Robert A. Butterworth.

• Position: The Legacy of Bush v. Gore in Public Opinion and American Law - Discussion

This speech was presented on November 12, 2010, at St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Michael A. Vera: And with that, I'd like to introduce our new dean, Dean Douglas Ray, who, again, as I mentioned previously, has been a constant champion, though he didn't know me, didn't know our Law Review. He has embraced us. He has helped us, and he has guided us every step of the way, and for that I am eternally grateful. So if you all help me welcome Dean Doug Ray.

(Applause)

Dean Douglas Ray: Good evening. It's my distinct pleasure to welcome you to this dinner tonight. We're especially honored to have with us the President of our University, Reverend Monsignor Casale, and the Provost of our University, Dr. Chart. Their presence here, I think, shows better than any words, their support for the law school and the law school community. Please join me in thanking them. (Applause)

Dean Ray: I joined this law school only a month ago and there's a lot going on. This is a wonderful symposium. The students, Professor Kravitz and Professor Greenberg, have put together a wonderful program. I think we are learning the story behind the story. You have seen the advocates on both sides. Ten years later, they can talk to each other and we're learning a lot, and I'm sure tomorrow we will learn a whole lot more. I'd like to say a little bit about our law school.

This is not just another law school. Our students and faculty are engaged in the community. They're engaged in the world. In our clinics, our externships, our pro bono program, they serve the underrepresented throughout South Florida. The university and the law school sponsor a Human Rights Institute that represents 6,500 immigrants a year. Our students all participate in a pro bono program in which they provide over 15,000 hours of pro bono legal services a year under the supervision of licensed attorneys. Our moot court and mock trial programs are winning national honors.

We are especially blessed because of the richness of talent in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and by all the incredibly talented adjunct professors who join us. All of you who are mentors to our students, all of you who are role models, all of you who come back and talk in our career programs, really enrich our law school community.

Our faculty members are people who have sophisticated practice backgrounds, are well respected in the Bar, are engaged in the community, and are published experts in their fields. And the staff, the administrative staff, the hourly staff, and the faculty are committed to our students.

Finally, this is not the only incredible symposium we're doing. Last week our Intercultural Human Rights Law Review sponsored a symposium on the economic, human, and legal challenges facing Haiti after the earthquake, and that, too, was well attended, and that, too, will have national and international impact.

I will now hand the program back to Mr. Vera. Both he and Nick Reed hope to practice in South Florida, and both have been central to the success of our moot court program and our Law Review. They are just examples of the hundreds of wonderful students we have here.

(Applause)

Michael A. Vera: Thank you, Dean Ray, for those kind words. He flatters us too much, but we do appreciate him very much. Thank you. It is now my distinct pleasure to introduce Professor Murray Greenberg. He is--I had mentioned earlier I met Murray last fall. The best term I can use to describe Professor Greenberg is jack of all trades and a master of quite a few. He's an adjunct professor at various law schools down in this area. He is a charmer. He was heavily involved in Bush v. Gore in the 2000 election. One of our best county attorneys here in Miami-Dade, and truly just an all-around pleasure to know, and I'm quite fortunate to call you my friend, if you'll allow it. So let me introduce Professor Murray Greenberg.

(Applause)

Professor Murray Greenberg: I've become a master at pulling mikes down. Without repeating everything that's been said before, as Mike just said, I do teach at various law schools. I'm the itinerant, journeyman adjunct professor. This is without a doubt the nicest, most professionally run, pleasant law school I've ever seen.

(Applause)

Professor Greenberg: And I think the administration deserves a world of credit, which brings me to what brought me to St. Thomas. As a former dean, Bob Butterworth, who's going to give our keynote address, I

first knew General Butterworth--I'd heard about him and I'm gong to tell you in a minute, there's not a position in government he has not held in every section, in every one of the three branches of government, he's been there. But he was kind enough, silly enough, whatever the word is, to have hired me a few years back to teach here and I'm still here. So thank you, General.

Let me tell you a bit about his amazing background. I try not to read from lists when I do things like this, but there's no way to do this without reading from a list. His...