Cumberland School of Law
Encyclopedia
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA
accredited law school
at Samford University
in Birmingham, Alabama
. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize
recipient Cordell Hull
, "the father of the United Nations
"; over 50 U.S. representatives; and numerous senators, governors, and judges.
The school offers two degree programs: the 90-hour Juris Doctor
(J.D.), and the Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.), which is designed to educate foreign lawyers in the basic legal principles of the United States. The school also offers six dual-degree programs, and is building a biotechnology law emphasis through its research center
.
This summary is based on From Maverick to Mainstream, a review of Cumberland's history and the development of the American legal education system.
Langum and Walthall summarize the history of Cumberland Law School as:
at Cumberland University
. At the end of 1847, there were 15 law schools in the United States. Founder and first professor Judge Abraham Caruthers said,
facilitated the study of law and admitted a diverse student body, evidenced by graduates such as George W. Harkins
, a Choctaw
chief, who received a law degree from Cumberland and became a judge in 1834.
. Establishing law schools was difficult in the early 19th century. Harvard was only able to reestablish its law school in 1829 and Yale
in 1826. By 1859 Cumberland, Harvard
, and the University of Virginia School of Law
, were the three largest law schools in the United States. A year later, 1860, only 21 university law schools existed in the country, and, in no school, did the curriculum extend beyond two years.
During the Antebellum years, Cumberland enjoyed success. Nathan Green, Jr.
, son of then professor Nathan Green, Sr., stated that Cumberland enjoyed "the highest degree of prosperity", with a beautiful 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) campus, picturesque trees and fences, and fine architecture. Cumberland's first graduate Paine Page Prim
ultimately became chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
.
Students were taught through reading treatises, approximately two hours worth of recitations each morning, and a mandatory moot court program. Caruthers considered the law a science and the Socratic Method
a necessity. The cost was $50 a session and a $5 "contingent fee". After the Civil War, this treatise method, the legal formalism of the school's approach, and Nathan Green Jr.'s unwillingness to make changes, were all considered reasons for Cumberland's drift out of the mainstream.
called for volunteers to quell the southern insurrection. The campus split within a week; some students joined the northern army; many joined the southern. Nathan Green Jr.'s father, a law professor, went home, but in fear of arrest, Abraham Caruthers fled to Marietta, Georgia
, where he died a year later.
During the war, professors John Carter and Nathan Green, Jr. fought as Confederate officers. Carter was killed, but Green survived the war. The campus did not. The trees were cut down and fences destroyed and burned. The Confederate Army burned the University buildings, apparently because a Confederate major was offended that Black Union soldiers had used them as barracks.
, the mythological Egyptian bird that is reborn from its own ashes. The new motto was "E Cineribus Resurgo" or "I rise from the ashes."
In September 1865 classes resumed with 11 students, which soon grew to 20. The 1865 class included a Confederate General and Union colonel, enemies only a few months earlier. Nathan Green, Jr. kept the school together until Henry Cooper, a circuit judge, Andrew B. Martin, and Robert L. Caruthers
, brother of deceased founder Abraham Caruthers, joined the faculty. Robert Caruthers had previously served as the state attorney general and had been elected Governor of Tennessee during the war in 1863, but was never innaugurated. Cooper did not serve on the faculty for long.
In 1873 Robert Caruthers purchased Corona Hall from the Corona Institute for Women for $10,000, which he immediately donated to the University for use by the law school.
The destruction of the campus and the devastation of war had impoverished the school and it was almost 15 years before it saw students enter from outside the South, when a student from Illinois and a member of the Choctaw Nation enrolled at Cumberland. But there were few students from outside of the defeated Southern states, which Langum and Walthall claim underscored "how terribly the Civil War blighted Cumberland."
Robert Caruthers persisted, despite the setbacks, and in 1878 Caruthers Hall was dedicated in his honor. This new school replaced Corona Hall, which had limitations. The new hall apparently had "excellent acoustics and hard seats" and is described as a:
Despite the seemingly heroic efforts to keep the school alive, Cumberland was falling into the minority at the turn of the 20th century. It maintained a one-year curriculum when other schools moved toward longer terms, and it was entrenched with legal formalism
, which had reached its peak in the 1870s and would soon be on the decline. In 1876, for instance, Harvard Law School
began to encourage a three-year curriculum. Through 1919, Cumberland did not adapt to the shift in legal education.
Historian Lewis L. Laska observed that:
In 1903 Nathan Green, Jr. became the first dean of the law school. For the prior 57 years the school did not have this position, which was becoming more and more popular among law schools.
Cumberland first admitted women in 1901, and the library grew from 600 volumes in 1869 to 3000 in 1878. Today, the Lucille Stewart Beeson Law Library contains 300,000 volumes and microform volume equivalents.
In 1915 Cumberland refurbished its halls with an $8000 grant from the U.S. government as reparation for federal occupancy during the Civil War.
When Cordell Hull
graduated from Cumberland, he commented on the diploma privilege, which granted the right to practice law without taking a bar exam, saying that:
room bearing his name.
Cumberland eventually did adapt to the changing times, moving from Cumberland University
in Lebanon, Tennessee
, to Samford University
in Birmingham, Alabama
in 1961. It is only one of two law schools in the United States to have been sold from one university to another (the other being the sale of the law school from the University of Puget Sound
to Seattle University
).
Today the law school is known for its emphasis on trial advocacy and is building a biotechnology emphasis through its Biotechnology Center
.
In December 2005 Cumberland adopted a long-term plan for the school. One call of the plan is to gradually downsize the number of students in order to provide smaller classes and closer individual attention to students. In 1995 the entering class was 212 and by 2007 that number had been reduced to 159.
The law school emphasizes practical skills and integrity. The current dean
, former federal judge
John L. Carroll
(class of '74) has stated that:
, Contracts, Property, Torts, Criminal Law
, and Evidence
. Students are divided into one of three sections, where the students remain together in their respective classes for the entire first year. First-year students are also enrolled in smaller sections for Lawyering and Legal Reasoning, a class that focuses on honing the students' ability to think and write like a lawyer.
Second- and third-year courses allow students more choices and some degree of specialization. Cumberland offers a balance of traditional courses, such as Criminal Procedure, Family Law, and Basic Federal Income Tax, and practical courses, such as Basic and Advanced Trial Skills, Business Drafting, Real Estate Transactions, and Law Office Practice and Management.
Students must also take Professional Responsibility and the MPRE, an exam that is required to practice in addition to the Bar exam.
Students are taught using the Socratic Method
, typical of law school pedagogy.
The collection consists of approximately 300,000 volumes and microform volume equivalents. The library also offers electronic and audiovisual resources. There are seven full-time librarians, eight full-time support staff members, and four part-time support staff members.
focus is on the research and study of the ethical and legal issues arising from the biotechnology
industry, which is important to the City of Birmingham. Each year the Center sponsors a major symposium which attracts nationally known experts.
The 2007 Symposium, entitled “The United States Health-Care System: Access, Equity and Efficiency”, focused on the issues of health care delivery in the United States, particularly to the poor, the problems that exist and potential solutions to those problems. The symposium brought together experts from the University of Minnesota
, the Saint Louis University School of Law
and Texas A & M University and Cumberland.
The keynote address, which was also the Thurgood Marshall
Lecture, was presented by United States Congressman Artur Davis
, a leader on issues relating to the delivery of health care services.
The Fall 2007 entering class consisted of 159 students selected from an applicant pool of over 1200. The class has an average LSAT
of 157 and average GPA of 3.27. The top 75th percentile of the class has an LSAT of 159 and 3.52 GPA. The incoming class also has the distinction of having highest percentage of women (48%) in school's 160 year history.
In 2007, student teams from Cumberland won both the Criminal Justice Trial Competition held in Hamden, Connecticut
and the Lone Star Classic Mock Trial Competition in San Antonio, Texas
.
In 2008, Cumberland placed first out of 256 other teams in the American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition and in 2009 placed second, losing by one point. The same year, Cumberland made the finals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy competition. It was one of four from 30 teams in its region that went to the national finals in Chicago. Cumberland won third best brief in the region.
In 2009, a Cumberland team won the regional round of the National Trial Competition in Tallahassee, Florida, advancing to the national championship round in San Antonio. Cumberland was the only school in the competition to have both of its teams advance to the semi-final round. Cumberland also won the American Association for Justice Mock Trial
Competition regional championship advancing to the national championship round in West Palm Beach, FL.
Housing for law students is not available on campus, but students typically rent apartments or buy houses in the surrounding community.
Competition for grades and rank can be aggressive, but rarely personal, and there is a surprising degree of camaraderie among the students, which many students consider to be atypical of the environment on most law school campuses.
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
accredited law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
at Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
recipient Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
, "the father of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
"; over 50 U.S. representatives; and numerous senators, governors, and judges.
The school offers two degree programs: the 90-hour Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.), and the Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.), which is designed to educate foreign lawyers in the basic legal principles of the United States. The school also offers six dual-degree programs, and is building a biotechnology law emphasis through its research center
Cumberland School of Law's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics
The Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics is a bioethics, biotechnology, and biotechnology law research center of Cumberland School of Law located on the Samford University campus in Birmingham, Alabama...
.
History
Langum and Walthall summarize the history of Cumberland Law School as:
From its very local, Tennessee origins in 1847, Cumberland...emerged as a premier law school with a national status. It excelled in faculty, teaching methodology, and numbers of students. Following the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Cumberland rebuilt itself and ultimately succeeded on a grand scale with its single-year curriculum.
Early years and founding
Cumberland School of Law was founded on July 29, 1847 in Lebanon, TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
at Cumberland University
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...
. At the end of 1847, there were 15 law schools in the United States. Founder and first professor Judge Abraham Caruthers said,
I call it an adventure, I speak of it as an experiment.Prior to the law school's official founding, Cumberland University
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...
facilitated the study of law and admitted a diverse student body, evidenced by graduates such as George W. Harkins
George W. Harkins
George W. Harkins was an attorney and prominent chief of the Choctaw tribe during the Indian removals. Elected as principal chief after the national council deposed his maternal uncle, Greenwood LeFlore, in 1834 Harkins was elected judge of the Red River District in Indian Territory...
, a Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
chief, who received a law degree from Cumberland and became a judge in 1834.
Antebellum years
Prior to the founding of the United States' first law schools, the primary means for a legal education was apprenticeshipApprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
. Establishing law schools was difficult in the early 19th century. Harvard was only able to reestablish its law school in 1829 and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1826. By 1859 Cumberland, Harvard
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, and the University of Virginia School of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
, were the three largest law schools in the United States. A year later, 1860, only 21 university law schools existed in the country, and, in no school, did the curriculum extend beyond two years.
During the Antebellum years, Cumberland enjoyed success. Nathan Green, Jr.
Nathan Green, Jr.
Nathan Green, Jr. was one of the founders and the first dean of Cumberland School of Law, then located in Lebanon, Tennessee....
, son of then professor Nathan Green, Sr., stated that Cumberland enjoyed "the highest degree of prosperity", with a beautiful 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) campus, picturesque trees and fences, and fine architecture. Cumberland's first graduate Paine Page Prim
Paine Page Prim
Paine Page Prim was an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 6th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving in that role from three times between 1864 and 1878. Prim served on Oregon’s highest court for 21 years...
ultimately became chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
.
Socratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
a necessity. The cost was $50 a session and a $5 "contingent fee". After the Civil War, this treatise method, the legal formalism of the school's approach, and Nathan Green Jr.'s unwillingness to make changes, were all considered reasons for Cumberland's drift out of the mainstream.
Civil war
April 13, 1861 jolted Cumberland out of its "Golden Age" when President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
called for volunteers to quell the southern insurrection. The campus split within a week; some students joined the northern army; many joined the southern. Nathan Green Jr.'s father, a law professor, went home, but in fear of arrest, Abraham Caruthers fled to Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
, where he died a year later.
During the war, professors John Carter and Nathan Green, Jr. fought as Confederate officers. Carter was killed, but Green survived the war. The campus did not. The trees were cut down and fences destroyed and burned. The Confederate Army burned the University buildings, apparently because a Confederate major was offended that Black Union soldiers had used them as barracks.
Reconstruction
The law school began the slow process of rebuilding. In July 1866, Cumberland adopted the image of the phoenixPhoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
, the mythological Egyptian bird that is reborn from its own ashes. The new motto was "E Cineribus Resurgo" or "I rise from the ashes."
In September 1865 classes resumed with 11 students, which soon grew to 20. The 1865 class included a Confederate General and Union colonel, enemies only a few months earlier. Nathan Green, Jr. kept the school together until Henry Cooper, a circuit judge, Andrew B. Martin, and Robert L. Caruthers
Robert L. Caruthers
Robert Looney Caruthers was a distinguished attorney and politician who was elected governor of the state of Tennessee. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.-Career:...
, brother of deceased founder Abraham Caruthers, joined the faculty. Robert Caruthers had previously served as the state attorney general and had been elected Governor of Tennessee during the war in 1863, but was never innaugurated. Cooper did not serve on the faculty for long.
The destruction of the campus and the devastation of war had impoverished the school and it was almost 15 years before it saw students enter from outside the South, when a student from Illinois and a member of the Choctaw Nation enrolled at Cumberland. But there were few students from outside of the defeated Southern states, which Langum and Walthall claim underscored "how terribly the Civil War blighted Cumberland."
Robert Caruthers persisted, despite the setbacks, and in 1878 Caruthers Hall was dedicated in his honor. This new school replaced Corona Hall, which had limitations. The new hall apparently had "excellent acoustics and hard seats" and is described as a:
splendid structure, built after the latest architectural style, is nearly one hundred feet from base to spire, and contains two recitation rooms for the Law Department, two Society Halls, a Library, and a chapel whose seating capacity is about seven hundred.
National shift in legal education
Legal formalism
Legal formalism is a legal positivist view in philosophy of law and jurisprudence. While Jeremy Bentham's can be seen as appertaining to the legislature, legal formalism appertains to the Judge; that is, formalism does not suggest that the substantive justice of a law is irrelevant, but rather,...
, which had reached its peak in the 1870s and would soon be on the decline. In 1876, for instance, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
began to encourage a three-year curriculum. Through 1919, Cumberland did not adapt to the shift in legal education.
Historian Lewis L. Laska observed that:
Cumberland, which had once marked the high point of professional education, had become a captive of its own success. Unwilling to adopt modern techniques such as the case methodCase methodThe case method is a teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem...
, or to expand and deepen its curriculum by opting for the three-year standard, Cumberland became the symbol of the democratic bar.
In 1903 Nathan Green, Jr. became the first dean of the law school. For the prior 57 years the school did not have this position, which was becoming more and more popular among law schools.
Cumberland first admitted women in 1901, and the library grew from 600 volumes in 1869 to 3000 in 1878. Today, the Lucille Stewart Beeson Law Library contains 300,000 volumes and microform volume equivalents.
In 1915 Cumberland refurbished its halls with an $8000 grant from the U.S. government as reparation for federal occupancy during the Civil War.
When Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
graduated from Cumberland, he commented on the diploma privilege, which granted the right to practice law without taking a bar exam, saying that:
according to custom, we members of the graduating class, the moment we received our diplomas, took them to the courthouse, where a district judge awaited us. He swore us in as members of the bar. I was not 20 years old.Cordell Hull is today honored at Cumberland with a Moot Court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
room bearing his name.
Cumberland eventually did adapt to the changing times, moving from Cumberland University
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...
in Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
, to Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in 1961. It is only one of two law schools in the United States to have been sold from one university to another (the other being the sale of the law school from the University of Puget Sound
University of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
to Seattle University
Seattle University
Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member...
).
Today the law school is known for its emphasis on trial advocacy and is building a biotechnology emphasis through its Biotechnology Center
Cumberland School of Law's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics
The Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics is a bioethics, biotechnology, and biotechnology law research center of Cumberland School of Law located on the Samford University campus in Birmingham, Alabama...
.
Long range plan of 2005
Institution
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
, former federal judge
Federal judge
Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
John L. Carroll
John L. Carroll
John L. Carroll is dean of Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to his appointment as dean, Carroll served as a federal trial judge for 14 years in the position of Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Alabama...
(class of '74) has stated that:
"The prevailing philosophy is simple: Practical skill outweighs raw knowledge, and application transcends erudition. If the goal were to produce great law students, the tenets might be exactly the opposite. Our goal is to produce exceptional lawyers. That's why Cumberland’s curriculum emphasizes the core competencies of legal practice: research, writing and persuasion."
Curriculum
The first year required classes are: Civil ProcedureCivil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...
, Contracts, Property, Torts, Criminal Law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
, and Evidence
Evidence (law)
The law of evidence encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. These rules determine what evidence can be considered by the trier of fact in reaching its decision and, sometimes, the weight that may be given to that evidence...
. Students are divided into one of three sections, where the students remain together in their respective classes for the entire first year. First-year students are also enrolled in smaller sections for Lawyering and Legal Reasoning, a class that focuses on honing the students' ability to think and write like a lawyer.
Students must also take Professional Responsibility and the MPRE, an exam that is required to practice in addition to the Bar exam.
Students are taught using the Socratic Method
Socratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
, typical of law school pedagogy.
Joint degree programs
Cumberland offers 6 joint degree programs:- JD/Master of Accountancy, JD/Master of Business Administration, in conjunction with the Samford UniversitySamford UniversitySamford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
School of Business, - JD/Master of Divinity, in conjunction with the Beeson Divinity SchoolBeeson Divinity SchoolThe Beeson Divinity School of Samford University is an interdenominational evangelical divinity school. The current dean is Timothy George.Though located on the campus of a Baptist university, Beeson remains interdenominational...
of Samford UniversitySamford UniversitySamford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
, - JD/Master of Science in Environmental Management, in conjunction with the graduate school of Samford UniversitySamford UniversitySamford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
, - JD/Master of Public Administration, in conjunction with the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamThe University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
, - JD/Master of Public Health, in conjunction with the School of Public Health of the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamThe University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
.
Foreign programs
- Summer 2006 - Sidney Sussex College, CambridgeSidney Sussex College, CambridgeSidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; - Summer 2006 - Universidade Federal do CearáUniversidade Federal do CearáFederal University of Ceará is a federal university with campuses in the cities of Fortaleza, Sobral and Barbalha, in the state of Ceará, Brazil...
, FortalezaFortalezaFortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
; - Summer 2006 - University of VictoriaUniversity of VictoriaThe University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The Lucille Stewart Beeson Law Library
The library building is 42500 square feet (3,948.4 m²) with 13 conference rooms, 474 study spaces, carrels equipped with electrical and data connections, and three computer labs.The collection consists of approximately 300,000 volumes and microform volume equivalents. The library also offers electronic and audiovisual resources. There are seven full-time librarians, eight full-time support staff members, and four part-time support staff members.
The Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics
The Center for Biotechnology, Law and EthicsCumberland School of Law's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics
The Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics is a bioethics, biotechnology, and biotechnology law research center of Cumberland School of Law located on the Samford University campus in Birmingham, Alabama...
focus is on the research and study of the ethical and legal issues arising from the biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
industry, which is important to the City of Birmingham. Each year the Center sponsors a major symposium which attracts nationally known experts.
The 2007 Symposium, entitled “The United States Health-Care System: Access, Equity and Efficiency”, focused on the issues of health care delivery in the United States, particularly to the poor, the problems that exist and potential solutions to those problems. The symposium brought together experts from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, the Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law , also known as SLU LAW, is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. Opened in 1843, it is the first law school west of the Mississippi River. The school has been ABA...
and Texas A & M University and Cumberland.
The keynote address, which was also the Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
Lecture, was presented by United States Congressman Artur Davis
Artur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
, a leader on issues relating to the delivery of health care services.
Other research centers
- The Center for Law & Church
- The Alabama Center for Law and CivicCivicsCivics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
Education
Admissions statistics
Candidates are selected based on "LSAT, undergraduate GPA, discipline of study, graduate work, undergraduate grade trends, employment, undergraduate institution, personal statement, and letters of recommendation."Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test is a half-day standardized test administered four times each year at designated testing centers throughout the world. Administered by the Law School Admission Council for prospective law school candidates, the LSAT is designed to assess Reading Comprehension,...
of 157 and average GPA of 3.27. The top 75th percentile of the class has an LSAT of 159 and 3.52 GPA. The incoming class also has the distinction of having highest percentage of women (48%) in school's 160 year history.
Bar passage and employment rates
- First time takers from the Class of 2006 had a 93.3% passage rate on the July 2006 Alabama Bar exam.
- First time takers from the Class of 2005 had a 94.1% passage rate on the July 2005 Alabama Bar exam.
- 93.7% of the Class of 2004 is currently employed, with 68.9% in private practice, 5.91% in judicial clerkships, 4.1% in business and industry, 11.1% in government, 1.5% in public interest, .7% in academics, and 6.7% pursued advanced degrees.
Publications
- The Cumberland Law ReviewCumberland Law ReviewThe Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
, whose members are selected by write-in from the top 15% of the freshman class. - The American Journal of Trial Advocacy, whose members are selected by write-in from the top 33% of the freshman class.
Selected student organizations
- Alabama Defense Lawyer's Association
- The American Constitution Society for Law and PolicyAmerican Constitution Society for Law and PolicyThe American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is a progressive legal organization that promotes the U.S. Constitutional values of "individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, access to justice, democracy and the rule of law." The American Bar Association Journal described it as "the...
- Association of Trial Lawyers of AmericaAssociation of Trial Lawyers of AmericaThe American Association for Justice , formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America is the leading organization for lawyers representing plaintiffs in the United States...
(ATLA) - Black Law Students Association
- Christian Legal SocietyChristian Legal SocietyThe Christian Legal Society is a non-profit, non-denominational organization of Christian lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students whose members profess to follow the "commandment of Jesus" to "do justice with the love of God."...
- Cordell HullCordell HullCordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
Speakers Forum - Federalist SocietyFederalist SocietyThe Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with a textualist and/or originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution...
- Henry Upson Sims Moot Court Board
- Law, Science and Technology Society
- Phi Alpha DeltaPhi Alpha DeltaΦAΔ , or P.A.D., is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 300,000 initiated members...
- Student Bar Association
- Trial Advocacy Board
- Women in the Law
In 2007, student teams from Cumberland won both the Criminal Justice Trial Competition held in Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
and the Lone Star Classic Mock Trial Competition in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
.
In 2008, Cumberland placed first out of 256 other teams in the American Association for Justice National Student Trial Advocacy Competition and in 2009 placed second, losing by one point. The same year, Cumberland made the finals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy competition. It was one of four from 30 teams in its region that went to the national finals in Chicago. Cumberland won third best brief in the region.
In 2009, a Cumberland team won the regional round of the National Trial Competition in Tallahassee, Florida, advancing to the national championship round in San Antonio. Cumberland was the only school in the competition to have both of its teams advance to the semi-final round. Cumberland also won the American Association for Justice Mock Trial
Mock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
Competition regional championship advancing to the national championship round in West Palm Beach, FL.
Student life
Cumberland offers numerous extracurricular activities.Housing for law students is not available on campus, but students typically rent apartments or buy houses in the surrounding community.
Competition for grades and rank can be aggressive, but rarely personal, and there is a surprising degree of camaraderie among the students, which many students consider to be atypical of the environment on most law school campuses.
Rankings
In 2005, 2006 and 2007 the Princeton Review included Cumberland in its "Best 170 Law Schools", ranking it in two top-10 lists for three years in a row. In 2009, U.S. News and World Report ranked Cumberland 114th in the nation, listing it as a third-tier school. It ranked Cumberland's Trial Advocacy Program ninth in the nation. In 2007 Cumberland ranked sixth for faculty performance and accessibility and seventh for overall quality of life.Founders
- Abraham Caruthers
- Robert L. CaruthersRobert L. CaruthersRobert Looney Caruthers was a distinguished attorney and politician who was elected governor of the state of Tennessee. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.-Career:...
- Nathan Green, Sr.
- Nathan Green, Jr.Nathan Green, Jr.Nathan Green, Jr. was one of the founders and the first dean of Cumberland School of Law, then located in Lebanon, Tennessee....
Deans
| Dean | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan Green, Jr. Nathan Green, Jr. Nathan Green, Jr. was one of the founders and the first dean of Cumberland School of Law, then located in Lebanon, Tennessee.... |
1903 |
| 2 | Andrew Martin | |
| 3 | Edward E. Beard | |
| 4 | William R. Chambers | acting dean |
| 5 | Albert Williams | acting dean 1933–1935 |
| 6 | Albert B. Neil | acting dean |
| 7 | Samuel Gilreath | acting dean 1947–1948 |
| 8 | Arthur A. Weeks | 1947–1952 |
| 9 | Donald E. Corley | acting dean 1972–1973, dean 1974–1984 |
| 10 | Brad Bishop | acting dean 1984–1985 |
| 11 | Parham H. Williams | 1985–1996 |
| 12 | Barry A. Currier | 1996–2000 |
| 13 | Michael D. Floyd | acting dean 2000–01 |
| 14 | John L. Carroll John L. Carroll John L. Carroll is dean of Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to his appointment as dean, Carroll served as a federal trial judge for 14 years in the position of Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Alabama... |
2001–present |
Notable alumni
- James Allred (D) - 2 term Governor of Texas
- Roger Bedford, Jr.Roger Bedford, Jr.Roger H. Bedford, Jr. born July 7, 1956, is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 6th District since 1994. He previously served from 1982 through 1990....
(D) - seven term Alabama Senator - Karon O. BowdreKaron O. BowdreKaron Owen Bowdre is a district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. She joined the court in 2001 after being nominated by President George W...
- federal judge - Beverly BrileyBeverly BrileyClifton Beverly Briley was the first mayor of the newly consolidated metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County. A Democrat, he served from 1963 to 1975.-Biography:...
(D) - mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home... - Gordon BrowningGordon BrowningGordon Weaver Browning was an American politician who represented Tennessee in the United States Congress and was later Governor of Tennessee from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1949 to 1953.-Biography:...
(D) - Governor of Tennessee, U.S. Representative from Tennessee - John L. CarrollJohn L. CarrollJohn L. Carroll is dean of Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to his appointment as dean, Carroll served as a federal trial judge for 14 years in the position of Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Alabama...
- former federal judge and dean of Cumberland School of Law, Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law CenterSouthern Poverty Law CenterThe Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that... - Robert L. CaruthersRobert L. CaruthersRobert Looney Caruthers was a distinguished attorney and politician who was elected governor of the state of Tennessee. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.-Career:...
- Governor of Tennessee, Tennessee Attorney General - Sidney J. CattsSidney J. CattsSidney Johnston Catts was an American politician. He was the 22nd Governor of Florida and with Congressman Charles Randall of California one of only two members of the Prohibition Party to ever hold a major office....
(P) - Governor of Florida (22nd), Prohibition party candidate - Harry E. ClaiborneHarry E. ClaiborneHarry Eugene Claiborne was a United States district court judge who was impeached for tax evasion. He was only the fifth person in U.S. history to be removed from office through impeachment by the U.S...
- notorious federal judge - Max O. Cogburn, Jr.Max O. Cogburn, Jr.Max Oliver Cogburn, Jr. was formerly a North Carolina lawyer in private practice and is currently a District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The Senate confirmed him 96–0 on March 10, 2011...
- federal magistrate judge and nominee to the United States District Court for the Western District of North CarolinaUnited States District Court for the Western District of North CarolinaThe United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina is a Federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina.... - James I. CohnJames I. CohnJames I. Cohn is an American lawyer and judge. He currently serves on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.-Early life and education:...
- federal judge - LeRoy CollinsLeRoy CollinsThomas LeRoy Collins was the 33rd Governor of Florida.-Early life:Collins was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, where he attended Leon High School. He went on to attend the Eastman Business College in New York and then went on to the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama to...
(D) - Governor of Florida - John F. CosgroveJohn F. CosgroveJohn F. Cosgrove was a former Florida legislator.Cosgrove previously served as a Representative in the House of Representatives of the U.S. state of Florida. In January 2006, he was elected the first mayor of the newly incorporated town of Cutler Bay, Florida...
(D) - Florida legislator and first mayor of Cutler Bay, FloridaCutler Bay, FloridaCutler Bay, historically called Cutler Ridge, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida from SW 184th Street east of US-1 to the coast, and north of Black Point Marina, at... - Charlie CristCharlie CristCharles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
(R) - Governor of Florida, Former Florida Attorney General - Ryan DeGraffenriedRyan DeGraffenriedWilliam Ryan deGraffenried, Jr. was an American politician who served as President Pro Tempore of the Alabama State Senate from 1987 to 1995....
(D) - Alabama State Senator, President Pro Tempore of state Senate, Acting Lieutenant Governor of Alabama - Joel Fredrick DubinaJoel Fredrick DubinaJoel Fredrick Dubina is the Chief Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.-Biography:Dubina was born in Elkhart, Indiana. He received a B.S. from the University of Alabama in 1970, and a J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1973.He was a law...
- Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, former federal Magistrate Judge and District Judge. - Edward H. EastEdward H. EastEdward Hazzard East , also known as E. H. East, served as Secretary of State for the U.S. state of Tennessee from 1862-1865, having been appointed by Andrew Johnson, the military governor of the state under Union occupation during the American Civil War...
(W) - Secretary of State for Tennessee - Grafton GreenGrafton GreenGrafton Green was an American jurist who served on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1910 to 1947, including more than 23 years as chief justice....
- associate justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, presided over the appeal of John T. ScopesJohn T. ScopesJohn Thomas Scopes , was a biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, who was charged on May 5, 1925 for violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools... - Ralph HabenRalph HabenRalph H. Haben, Jr. is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 1980 to 1982...
(D) - Former Speaker of the Florida House of RepresentativesSpeaker of the Florida House of RepresentativesThe Speaker is the presiding member of the Florida House of Representatives... - Carl HatchCarl HatchCarl Atwood Hatch was a Democratic Party politician from New Mexico who represented the Land of Enchantment in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1949....
(D) - U.S. Senator from New Mexico, author of the Hatch Act of 1939Hatch Act of 1939The Hatch Act of 1939 is a United States federal law whose main provision is to prohibit federal employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the President and the Vice President, from engaging in partisan political activity... - Van HillearyVan HillearyWilliam Vanderpool Hilleary, usually known as Van Hilleary is a Republican politician from Tennessee.-Early life and career:...
(R) - Tennessee politician and lobbyist - William J. Holloway (D) - Governor of Oklahoma
- Joe HilleyJoe HilleyJoe Hilley is a New York Times Best Selling author. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up on the Gulf Coast in the town of Grand Bay, Alabama. He is a graduate of Asbury College, Asbury Theological Seminary, and Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.Hilley began writing at night...
- New York Times Best Selling author, born in Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. Hilley wrote Sarah PalinSarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
: A New Kind of Leader (Zondervan/HarperCollins), which reached The New York Times Best Seller list during the final two weeks of the 2008 Presidential Election campaign. - James Edwin HortonJames Edwin HortonJudge James Edwin Horton was a Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit Court in Alabama. He was elected in 1922 and again in 1928.-Birth and education:...
- Judge who presided over the retrial of the Scottsboro BoysScottsboro BoysThe Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
who set aside the jury's conviction and sentence of death and was them removed by the Alabama Supreme CourtAlabama Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...
. He is remembered by a plaque on the courthouse. - Jeff HooverJeff HooverJeff Hoover is currently a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing the 83rd district where he has served since 1996. Hoover was selected to serve as House Minority Caucus Chair in 1999, and currently serves as House Minority Leader, a position he has held since 2001...
(R) - Kentucky House of Representatives - Carolyn HugleyCarolyn HugleyCarolyn Hugley is a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the 143rd district since 1992. She is currently Minority Whip.-External links:* official GA House website* profile*Follow the Money - Carolyn F Hugley...
(D) - Minority Whip, Georgia House of Representatives - Cordell HullCordell HullCordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
(D) - United States Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
under Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
recipient, 11 terms as U.S. Representative, chairman of the Democratic National CommitteeDemocratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, co-initiated the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... - Douglas S. JacksonDouglas S. JacksonDouglas S. "Doug" Jackson is a Tennessee State Senator, attorney, and executive director of the Renaissance Center.-Early life:...
(D) - State SenatorState SenatorA state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one house State Legislature.There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house...
from Tennessee, executive director of the Renaissance Center - George Doherty JohnsonGeorge Doherty JohnsonGeorge Doherty Johnston was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
- Confederate brigadier general, United States Civil Service Commissioner, superintendent of The Citadel (military college)The Citadel (military college)The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, also known simply as The Citadel, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. It is one of the six senior military colleges in the United States... - William F. KirbyWilliam F. KirbyWilliam Fosgate Kirby was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1916 to 1921....
(D) - U.S. Senator from Arkansas, associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, Attorney General for Arkansas, author of Kirby’s Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas - Joshua B. LeeJoshua B. LeeJoshua Bryan Lee was a United States Representative and Senator from Oklahoma.-Early life:Born in Childersburg, Alabama, he moved with his parents to Pauls Valley, Oklahoma , and then to Kiowa County, near Hobart, in 1901...
(D) - U.S. Senator and Representative from Oklahoma - Zeb LittleZeb LittleZeb Little was a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 4th District from 1998 to 2010. He was the Majority Leader and Floor Leader of the Alabama Senate from 2002 - 2010.Little was born in Cullman, Alabama and attended Cullman High School...
(D) - Majority Leader and Floor Leader of the Alabama Senate - Horace Harmon LurtonHorace Harmon LurtonHorace Harmon Lurton was an American jurist who served for four years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed at the age of 65, Lurton was the oldest justice appointed to the Court.-Life:...
(D) - United States Supreme Court Justice, Tennessee Supreme CourtTennessee Supreme CourtThe Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...
, justice U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, dean of Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
law department - Crawford MartinCrawford MartinCrawford Collins Martin was a Texas State Senator, Texas Secretary of State and Attorney General of Texas from 1967 until his death.-Early life:...
(D) - Texas State Senator, Texas Secretary of State and Attorney General of Texas - Joe McInnesJoe McInnesDuncan Joseph “Joe” McInnes is the director of the Alabama Department of Transportation , appointed by Alabama Governor Bob Riley.-Biography:...
Director of Ala Dept of Transportation, Exec VP of Blount Inc - Bert H. MillerBert H. MillerThis is for Bert H. Miller the Idaho senator, for Bert Miller the communist turn research director for the HUAC see Benjamin Mandel, for Bert Miller, the 19th-century baseball player, see Bert Miller ...
(D) - U.S. Senator from Idaho and Idaho Attorney General - Charles H. O'BrienCharles H. O'BrienCharles Herbert O'Brien , was a Tennessee State Senator in the 83rd and 84th Tennessee General Assemblies, a justice on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and Tennessee Supreme Court , and the husband of well-known Tennessee Democratic politician Anna Belle Clement O'Brien, who was the sister...
(D) - Tennessee State Senator, Tennessee State Supreme Court - Mike PapantonioMike PapantonioJames Michael Papantonio , popularly known as Mike Papantonio, is an American attorney and radio talk show host. A prominent trial lawyer, he co-hosts Ring of Fire, a nationally-syndicated weekly radio program, with Robert F...
- head of mass tort department at Levin, Papantonio in Pensacola, Florida, one of America's 15 most successful plaintiff's firms; host of the radio show Ring of Fire (radio program)Ring of Fire (radio program)Ring of Fire is a nationally syndicated American talk radio program hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio, and Sam Seder. The trio focuses on exposing people whom they consider to be "corporate fat cats, polluters and media spinmeisters". The show has been on the air since 2004 and is...
; a Methodist and featured on the documentary Jesus CampJesus CampJesus Camp is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spend their summers learning and practicing their prophetic gifts and being taught that they can "take back America for Christ." According to the...
. - DuBose PorterDuBose PorterDuBose Porter is a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the 143rd district since being elected in 1982. He is currently Minority Leader in the House. He was previously Administration Floor Leader for Governor Zell Miller from 1991 through 1992...
(D) - Minority Leader, Georgia House of Representatives - Paine Page PrimPaine Page PrimPaine Page Prim was an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 6th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving in that role from three times between 1864 and 1878. Prim served on Oregon’s highest court for 21 years...
- chief justice of the Oregon Supreme CourtOregon Supreme CourtThe Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
, first graduate of Cumberland Law School - Mike StewartMike Stewart (novelist)-Personal life:Michael Garnet Stewart is a native of Vredenburgh, Alabama, in Monroe County. He attended Tabor Academy for the first two years of high school but graduated from Wilcox Academy in Alabama....
- American writer - Tom StewartTom StewartArthur Thomas Stewart , more commonly known as Tom Stewart, was a Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1939 to 1949.-Early life and education:...
(D) - U.S. Senator from Tennessee, chief prosecutor during the Scopes TrialScopes TrialThe Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to... - John Strohm - entertainment lawyer and former member of the Blake BabiesBlake BabiesBlake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
and LemonheadsLemonheadsLemonheads may refer to:*Lemonhead, a brand of candy produced by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company*The Lemonheads, an alternative rock band from the United States... - Mauricio J. TamargoMauricio J. TamargoMauricio J. Tamargo was the 14th Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. He was nominated by President George W. Bush in July 2001. His present term is set to expire in September 2009.Tamargo is the 2nd son and 3rd child of 8 children born to Jorge Tamargo and Martha del Portillo...
- 14th Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement CommissionForeign Claims Settlement CommissionThe Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States is a quasi-judicial, independent agency within the U.S. Department of Justice which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments, either under specific jurisdiction conferred by Congress or pursuant to international... - Ben WestBen WestRaphael Benjamin West was mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1951-1963. West was born on March 31, 1911, in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee the son of Martha Melissa and her husband James Watt West....
- mayor of Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
U.S. Representatives
- Thomas G. Abernethy (D)- U.S. Representative from Mississippi (1943–1973)
- Robert AderholtRobert AderholtRobert Brown Aderholt is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district includes most of the far northern suburbs of Birmingham, as well as the southern suburbs of Huntsville and Decatur.- Early life, education and career :Aderholt was born in...
(R)- U.S. Representative from Alabama (1997- ) - Clifford AllenClifford AllenClifford Robertson Allen was a Tennessee attorney and Democratic politician.-Early life and career:Allen was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and graduated from Friends High School in Washington, D.C.. He graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1931 and was admitted to...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Richard Merrill AtkinsonRichard Merrill AtkinsonRichard Merrill Atkinson was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.-Biography:Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Atkinson attended the public schools....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Maecenas Eason BentonMaecenas Eason BentonMaecenas Eason Benton was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. He was the father of Thomas Hart Benton, who gained fame as a painter of the American Scene....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Missouri. Father of famed artist Thomas Hart BentonThomas Hart Benton (painter)Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States... - Joseph Edgar BrownJoseph Edgar BrownJoseph Edgar Brown was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee, son of Foster Vincent Brown.-Biography:Born in Jasper, Tennessee, Brown attended Baylor School in Chattanooga, and graduated from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1902 where he studied law at Cumberland School of Law.He was...
(R) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Foster V. BrownFoster V. BrownFoster Vincent Brown was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee, father of Joseph Edgar Brown.-Biography:Born near Sparta, Tennessee, Brown attended the common schools....
(R) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee, father of Joseph Edgar BrownJoseph Edgar BrownJoseph Edgar Brown was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee, son of Foster Vincent Brown.-Biography:Born in Jasper, Tennessee, Brown attended Baylor School in Chattanooga, and graduated from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1902 where he studied law at Cumberland School of Law.He was... - Omar BurlesonOmar BurlesonOmar Truman Burleson was a U.S. Representative from Texas.Born in Anson, the seat of Jones County, north of Abilene, Texas, Burleson attended the public schools and Abilene Christian College and Hardin-Simmons University, both in Abilene.Burleson graduated in 1929 from Cumberland University in...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Texas - Robert R. ButlerRobert R. ButlerRobert Reyburn Butler was a U.S. Representative from Oregon, grandson of Roderick Randum Butler. He also served in the Oregon State Senate and as a state circuit court judge in Oregon.-Early life:...
(R) - U.S. Representative from Oregon - Adam M. ByrdAdam M. ByrdAdam Monroe Byrd was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.Born in Sumter County, Alabama, Byrd moved to Neshoba County, Mississippi.He attended the common schools and Cooper Institute in Daleville....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Mississippi - William Parker CaldwellWilliam Parker CaldwellWilliam Parker Caldwell was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 9th congressional district of Tennessee.-Biography:...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee, Tennessee State Senator - Samuel CaruthersSamuel CaruthersSamuel Caruthers was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.Born in Madison County, Missouri, Caruthers was graduated from Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee.He studied law....
(W) - U.S. Representative from Missouri - Frank ChelfFrank ChelfFrank Leslie Chelf was a United States Representative from Kentucky. He was born on a farm near Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He attended the public schools as well as Centre College at Danville, Kentucky and St. Mary’s College...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Kentucky - Judson C. ClementsJudson C. ClementsJudson Claudius Clements was a U.S. Representative from Georgia. For a quarter century a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Clements served one year as its chairman. Clements had served as a member of the Confederate States Army.-Early life:Judson Clements was the son of Dr. Adam...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Georgia - Wynne F. ClouseWynne F. ClouseWynne F. Clouse was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.-Biography:Born in Goffton, near Cookeville, Tennessee, Clouse attended the public schools....
(R) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - William B. CraigWilliam B. CraigWilliam Benjamin Craig was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.Born in Selma, Alabama, Craig attended the public and high schools of Selma and was graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee.He was admitted to the bar in 1898 and commenced practice in Selma,...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Alabama - Jere CooperJere CooperJere Cooper was a Democratic United States Representative from Tennessee.-Biography:Cooper was born on a farm near Dyersburg, Dyer County, Tennessee...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - John Duncan, Sr.John Duncan, Sr.John James Duncan, Sr. was an American attorney and Republican politician who represented Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1965 until his death in 1988. He also served as Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee, from 1959 to 1964, and as assistant attorney...
(R) - 12 term U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Harold EarthmanHarold EarthmanHarold Henderson Earthman was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Earthman attended the public schools, Webb School at Bell Buckle, Tennessee, Southern Methodist University at Dallas, Texas, and the University of Texas at Austin.During the First World War he...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Benjamin A. EnloeBenjamin A. EnloeBenjamin Augustine Enloe was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 8th congressional district of Tennessee.-Biography:...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Joe L. EvinsJoe L. EvinsJoseph Landon Evins was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1947 to 1977.Evins was a native of the Blend Community of DeKalb County, Tennessee, the son of James Edgar Evins and Myrtie Goodson Evins. His father was a Tennessee state senator and a successful local businessman.Joe L...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Lewis P. FeatherstoneLewis P. FeatherstoneLewis Porter Featherstone was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Featherstone attended the common schools and Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Arkansas - Aaron L. FordAaron L. FordAaron Lane Ford was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.Born in Potts Camp, Mississippi, Ford attended public schools in Mississippi and Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Mississippi - William Voris GregoryWilliam Voris GregoryWilliam Voris Gregory , a Democrat, was a United States Representative from Kentucky.Gregory was born in Graves County and after college he taught school and served as superintendent of schools there...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Kentucky - Edward Isaac GolladayEdward Isaac GolladayEdward Isaac Golladay was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the |5th congressional district]] of Tennessee.-Biography:He was born in Lebanon, Tennessee in Wilson County on September 9, 1830...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Isaac GoodnightIsaac GoodnightIsaac Herschel Goodnight was a United States Representative from Kentucky.-Early life and family:Isaac Goodnight was born near Scottsville, Kentucky on January 31, 1849. He was the son of Isaac and Lucinda Goodnight...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Kentucky - Oren HarrisOren HarrisOren Harris was a U.S. Representative and United States District Court Judge from Arkansas.-Background:Born in Belton, Arkansas, Harris attended public schools in Prescott, Arkansas....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Arkansas - Robert H. HattonRobert H. HattonRobert Hopkins Hatton was a lawyer, politician, United States Congressman, and Confederate officer during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
(O) - U.S. Congressman, ConfederateConfederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
brigadier generalBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
, Opposition party member, killed during the Battle of Fair Oaks - Goldsmith W. HewittGoldsmith W. HewittGoldsmith Whitehouse Hewitt was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.-Biography:Born near Elyton , Jefferson County, Alabama, Hewitt attended the country schools....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Alabama - Wilson S. HillWilson S. HillWilson Shedric Hill was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.Born near Lodi, Mississippi, Hill attended the common schools and the University of Mississippi at Oxford....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Missouri - George HuddlestonGeorge HuddlestonGeorge Huddleston was a U.S. Representative from Alabama, father of George Huddleston, Jr.Born on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, Huddleston attended the common schools....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Alabama and father of George Huddleston, Jr.George Huddleston, Jr.George Huddleston, Jr. was a Democratic Congressman from Alabama.Huddleston was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the son of George Huddleston, who represented the Birmingham area in Congress from 1915 to 1937... - Howell Edmunds JacksonHowell Edmunds JacksonHowell Edmunds Jackson was an American jurist and politician. He served on the United States Supreme Court, in the U.S. Senate, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Tennessee House of Representatives. He authored notable opinions on the Interstate Commerce Act and the...
(D) - also a United States Supreme Court Justice, brother of General William Hicks JacksonWilliam Hicks JacksonWilliam Hicks "Red" Jackson was a cotton planter, horse breeder, and general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:... - Abraham KazenAbraham KazenAbraham Kazen, Jr., usually known as Chick Kazen was a U.S. Representative from Texas from 1967 to 1985.- Education :...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Texas - Wade H. KitchensWade H. KitchensWade Hampton Kitchens was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.Born on a farm near Falcon, Nevada County, Arkansas, Kitchens attended the common schools, Southern Academy, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Arkansas - John KyleJohn KyleJohn Curtis Kyle was a Democratic politician from the US state of Mississippi during the late 19th century.Kyle was born in Sardis, Mississippi and attended Bethel College in Tennessee...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Mississippi - John Ridley MitchellJohn Ridley MitchellJohn Ridley Mitchell was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.Born in Livingston, Tennessee, Mitchell attended the public schools.He was graduated from Peabody College of Teachers, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1896....
- U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Tom J. MurrayTom J. MurrayThomas Jefferson Murray , usually known as Tom J. Murray, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1943 to 1966.-Early life:...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Wright PatmanWright PatmanJohn William Wright Patman was a U.S. Congressman from Texas in Texas's 1st congressional district and chair of the United States House Committee on Banking and Currency .-Early life:...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Texas - Herron C. PearsonHerron C. PearsonHerron Carney Pearson was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.-Biography:Born in Taylor, Texas, Pearson moved to Jackson, Tennessee, in 1891.He attended the public and high schools....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Andrew PriceAndrew PriceAndrew Price was a U.S. Representative from Louisiana.Born on Chatsworth plantation, near Franklin, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, Price attended various private schools....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Louisiana - Haywood Yancey RiddleHaywood Yancey RiddleHaywood Yancey Riddle was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 4th congressional district of Tennessee. He was born on June 20, 1834 in Van Buren, Tennessee in Hardeman County. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from Union University...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Martha RobyMartha RobyMartha Dubina Roby is the U.S. Representative for . She is a member of the Republican Party. She narrowly defeated incumbent Representative Bobby Bright on November 2 during the United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama, 2010 and assumed office in January 2011.-Early life,...
(R) - U.S. Representative from Alabama - Dennis A. RossDennis A. RossDennis Alan Ross is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. The seat was left open as the incumbent Adam Putnam ran for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.- Early life, education, and business career :...
(R) - U.S. Representative from Florida - Thetus W. SimsThetus W. SimsThetus Willrette Sims was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 8th congressional district of Tennessee. He was born on April 25, 1852 near Waynesboro, Tennessee in Wayne County. He attended a private school at Martin Mills and moved with his...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - James Edward RuffinJames Edward RuffinJames Edward Ruffin was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.Born on a farm near Covington, Tennessee, Ruffin moved to Aurora, Missouri with his parents....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Missouri - Thomas U. SissonThomas U. SissonThomas Upton Sisson was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.Born near McCool, Attala County, Mississippi, Sisson moved with his father to Choctaw County, Mississippi....
(D) - U.S. Representative from Mississippi - John H. SmithwickJohn H. SmithwickJohn Harris Smithwick was a U.S. Representative from Florida.Smithwick was born near Orange, Georgia and attended the public schools. He graduated from Reinhardt Normal College in Waleska, Georgia in 1895 and from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University on Lebanon, Tennessee in 1897...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Florida - Charles SwindallCharles SwindallCharles Swindall was a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.-Early life:Born at College Mound, near Terrell, Texas, Swindall attended the public schools and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee....
(R) - U.S. Representative from Oklahoma - John May TaylorJohn May TaylorJohn May Taylor was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.-Career:Born in Lexington, Tennessee, Taylor attended the Male Academy in Lexington and the Union University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Anthony F. TaurielloAnthony F. TaurielloAnthony Francis Tauriello was an American congressman who represented the state of New York. He was born in Buffalo, New York, USA on August 14, 1899 and graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in 1929. He was a member of the Erie County Board of Supervisors from 1933 to 1937; also, he was a...
(D) - U.S. Representative for New York - J. Will TaylorJ. Will TaylorJames Willis Taylor was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.Born near Lead Mine Bend in Union County, Tennessee, Taylor attended the public schools, Holbrook Normal College, Fountain City, Tennessee, and the American Temperance University, Harriman, Tennessee.He taught school for several years.He...
(R) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor (Tennessee)Zachary Taylor was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.Born near Brownsville, Tennessee, Taylor attended J.I...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee - Richard WarnerRichard Warner (politician)Richard Warner was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.Born near Chapel Hill, Tennessee, Warner attended the public schools and graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1858. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in...
(D) - U.S. Representative from Tennessee
Notable professors
- Oscar AdamsOscar AdamsOscar William Adams, Jr. was the first African-American Alabama Supreme Court justice and the first African American elected to statewide office in Alabama ....
- the first African-American Alabama Supreme CourtAlabama Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...
justice and the first African American elected to statewide office in AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
(including the Reconstruction era), taught classes in appellate and trial advocacy. - Albert BrewerAlbert BrewerAlbert Preston Brewer is an American politician who was the 47th Governor of Alabama from May 7, 1968 until January 18, 1971.-Life and political career:...
- Governor of Alabama, Distinguished Professor of Law and Government - John L. CarrollJohn L. CarrollJohn L. Carroll is dean of Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to his appointment as dean, Carroll served as a federal trial judge for 14 years in the position of Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Alabama...
- former federal judge and dean of Cumberland School of Law, Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law CenterSouthern Poverty Law CenterThe Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
. - Robert L. CaruthersRobert L. CaruthersRobert Looney Caruthers was a distinguished attorney and politician who was elected governor of the state of Tennessee. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.-Career:...
- Attorney General for Tennessee, elected Governor of Tennessee - Henry Cooper (U.S. Senator)Henry Cooper (U.S. Senator)Henry Cooper was a Tennessee attorney, judge, and politician who served one term in the United States Senate, 1871-1877. He was a Democrat.-Biography:...
(D) - United States Senator from Tennessee. - William H. Pryor, Jr.William H. Pryor, Jr.William Holcombe "Bill" Pryor, Jr. is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Previously, he was the Attorney General of the State of Alabama from 1997 to 2004.-Background:...
- judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
, former Alabama Attorney General, adjunct professor - David M. SmolinDavid M. SmolinDavid Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G...
- Director of The Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics and human rights activist. Brother of theoretical physicist Lee SmolinLee SmolinLee Smolin is an American theoretical physicist, a researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo. He is married to Dina Graser, a communications lawyer in Toronto. His brother is David M... - Janie ShoresJanie ShoresJanie Ledlow Shores is a retired judge on the Supreme Court of Alabama who was the first woman to ever serve on that court. Shores also was considered by President Bill Clinton in 1993 as a possible nominee to the U.S...
- Alabama Supreme Court Justice
External links
- Cumberland Law School main page
- Abanet.org, ABA Page for Cumberland
- Samford.edu, Faculty Profiles
- Cordelhullmuseum.com, Cordell Hull Museum
- Cordelhullinstitute.org, Cordell Hull Institute