A Tribute to Hon. George Bundy Smith: Welcome and Introduction

Good evening and welcome. I am Bill Treanor, Dean of Fordham Law School. Tonight is a very special occasion. We pay tribute to a great jurist and a great man, a leader who has inspired us all with his personal courage, his intellectual strength, and his profound commitment to justice and equality. Tonight, we pay tribute to the Honorable George Bundy Smith. At Fordham Law, we have just concluded our centennial year. The Law School's first dean was a man named Paul Francisco Fuller. As a child he had been homeless, an orphan growing up alone on the streets of New York. He achieved the pinnacle of the legal profession, becoming one of the preeminent international lawyers of his generation. At the end of his career, he gave back by remembering all that he had overcome and starting this school. Dean Fuller started a school dedicated to the twin goals of promoting excellence in the legal profession and to opening doors. As we start our second century, it is very fitting that we are honoring a member of this community whose career beautifully reflects those twin goals of excellence and opening doors. Tonight, we will hear from many people who know Judge Smith well. Former clerks, colleagues, and friends will share stories of his life, character, and career. The details of his career success will be presented here tonight in detail. As we begin, I would like to share with you Judge Smith's special connection to this Law School. Judge Smith has been an adjunct professor at Fordham Law for twenty-five years. His dedication to his students is legendary. Since he joined our adjunct faculty in 1981, he has been imparting not just the letter of the law, but also an appreciation of its importance in protecting individual liberties to hundreds of Fordham Law students. In teaching New York Criminal Procedure, Judge Smith has earned a reputation among Fordham Law students as being both tough and gentle at the same time; former Dean John D. Feerick said of Judge Smith that his students would never risk being unprepared for his class because he sets the standard for excellence, but also speak reverently of his humility, gentleness, and soft-spoken nature. (1) Fordham alumna Rose Gill Hearn, who is now Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, recalled that she opted to take New York Criminal Procedure at night, even though she was a day student, simply because she had heard so many good things about Judge Smith. It was a decision well worth her while--she was inspired to practice criminal law by Judge Smith's enthralling discussion of the material he lived every day in the courtroom, his engagement of students, and his lively back-and-forth relay of the Socratic style. Another recent graduate told me that he had planned on a career in investment banking, but, after taking Judge Smith's class, he fell in love with the law for the first time, and became a criminal lawyer. A few comments from his teaching evaluations: The only law professor who has made me understand that the Socratic Method can be a good teaching tool. He has perfected it? Clear and precise. The Professor, being a New York Court of Appeals Judges, carries a courtroom demeanor into the classroom, which "imbues" the class with a professional and lawyerly atmosphere. But, though he is all business during class, there are moments when the professor will crack a gentle smile and say something funny. …