Welcoming remarks.

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

Nicholas Reed: Good evening. Welcome to our symposium commemorating Bush v. Gore, ten years later. We'd like to thank you all for coming. At this time, I would like to introduce our dean, Dean Ray. Dean Ray is a prominent author and speaker in the field of labor law, and he became the eighth dean of our school in October, just a couple months ago. Before that, he served as dean at the University of Toledo College of Law from 2006 until 2010; and before that, at Widener University School of Law, from 1998 to 2005. Dean Ray is an Honors graduate of the University of Minnesota and Harvard Law School, and before that he served in the U.S. Army and also in the U.S. Department of Labor as an economist.

After law school, Dean Ray practiced with Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis and taught at the University of Richmond School of Law and the University of Toledo College of Law, where he was the Charles W. Fornoff Professor of Law and Values. He's the past chair of the American Association of Law Schools' Section on Labor and Employment Law and, since 1999, has chaired labor law programs for the Center for American and International Law in Texas.

Dean Ray has served as a labor arbitrator or mediator in over 200 labor-management disputes. He has also published over 20 journal articles and has co-authored two labor law treatises, Understanding Labor Law and Labor Management Relations: Strikes, Lockouts, and Boycotts. At this time, please join me in welcoming Dean Ray.

(Applause)

Dean Douglas Ray: Good afternoon. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to this symposium. Today and tomorrow we will hear from distinguished members of the bench, the bar, and academia on what remains one of the most controversial legal decisions of our time. I'd like to begin by thanking the members of our Law Review and their advisor, Professor Gary Kravitz, for their work in putting together this program. I would ask all of them to stand--and Professor Kravitz is back there--so we can thank them for their very outstanding work. All members of the Law Review please stand.

(Applause)

Dean Ray: On December 9, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the recount of Florida presidential ballots, and on December 12, 2000, almost ten years ago, issued its historic decision in Bush v. Gore one day after hearing oral argument. This is a case that forever added the term "hanging chad" to our vocabulary. This is a case that has created a decade of controversy and a decade of questions...