EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 4, 2009) - Steven T. Wax, the federal public defender for the District of Oregon, will speak at the 2009 University of Oregon School of Law commencement on Saturday, May 16.
Wax is in his seventh term as federal public defender. He represented Brandon Mayfield, an immigration lawyer arrested by the FBI in 2004 as a material witness in the terrorist bombing of a Madrid train. Mayfield, a convert to Islam, was held for 19 days with no access to his family and limited access to legal counsel. He was never charged in the case, and the FBI later apologized.
Wax also represented alleged enemy combatants in the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. He memorialized these experiences in his recent book, "Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror." He has taught at the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, serves as an ethics prosecutor for the Oregon State Bar and lectures throughout the U.S.
This year 169 graduates are eligible to take part in the law school's commencement ceremony, which will begin at 1 p.m. in the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, 1 Eugene Center. Parking is available nearby. A reception will follow at The Club at Autzen Stadium, 2727 Leo Harris Parkway. Details on the law commencement are available at: http://www.law.uoregon.edu/students/commencement.
Merv Loya, former director of career services and current special assistant to the dean, is the recipient of the 2009 Meritorious Service Award. The award is given each year to a person who has made extraordinary contributions to legal education and the law. Loya has been a passionate champion of legal aid in Oregon and recently was recognized for his many years of work on behalf of the Campaign for Equal Justice.
Members of the graduating class selected Ralph Mooney, professor of law, to lead their procession. Mooney has been a faculty member since 1972 and teaches contracts.
Adell Amos will receive the Orlando J. Hollis Faculty Teaching Award. Amos, an assistant professor of law and a 1998 graduate, directs the law school's Environmental and Natural Resources Program. The Hollis Award is presented annually to the law school's outstanding teacher, to reward excellence in classroom instruction.
Jeminé Modé is the J.D. class speaker. Christine Sonya Phillips is the LL.M. class speaker. Joseph M. Kraus, Student Bar Association president, also will address the graduates. Class of 2009 representatives Rachel Elizabeth Black-Maier and Jennifer Rebecca Kirkman will present the class gift.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Credence Sol, director of communications, 541-346-1665, csol@uoregon.edu
Link: UO School of Law commencement, http://www.law.uoregon.edu/students/commencement
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