Stephen Bright
Encyclopedia
Stephen Bright is president and senior counsel for the Southern Center for Human Rights
and teaches at Harvard University
and Yale University
Law Schools and the Georgetown University Law Center
. He served as director of the Southern Center for Human Rights from 1982 through 2005, where he developed a national reputation as an opponent of the death penalty.
, the son of a conservative cattle and tobacco farmer. As a student at Boyle County High School
, he planned to be a sports writer, writing stories for The Advocate-Messenger
. He began his undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky
(UK) in Lexington
in fall 1965, and joined the Sigma Nu
fraternity. He became involved with student government, switched his major from journalism to political science, and was elected student body president in 1970. Entering that office in a turbulent time of student demonstrations against the Vietnam war
, the outspoken and controversial Bright earned a reputation as UK's "first liberal activist student president." He received his B.A.
and Juris Doctor
(J.D.
) from the University of Kentucky.
, and a public defender and director of a law school clinical program in Washington, DC.
He has represented people facing the death penalty at trials and on appeals and prisoners in challenges to inhumane conditions and practices; written essays and articles on the right to counsel
, racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, judicial independence
, and other topics that have appeared in scholarly publications, books, magazines and newspapers; and testified before committees of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
. He has also taught at the law schools at the University of Chicago
, Emory University
, Georgetown University
, Northeastern University, American University Washington College of Law, and other universities.
The Fulton County Daily Report
named Bright “Newsmaker of the Year” in 2003 for his contribution to bringing about creation of a public defender system in Georgia. Although Bright has brought lawsuits regarding indigent defense all over the South and the state of Georgia, his work in Greene County
was especially significant, and played a crucial role in the passage of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act in 2003. His work and the work of the Center have been the subject of a documentary film, Fighting for Life in the Death Belt http://emproductions.net/ and two books, Proximity to Death by William McFeely (Norton, 1999) and Finding Life on Death Row by Katya Lezin (Northeastern University Press, 1999).
’s Thurgood Marshall
Award in 1998; the American Civil Liberties Union
’s Roger Baldwin
Medal of Liberty in 1991; the National Legal Aid & Defender Association
’s Kutak-Dodds Prize in 1992, honorary degrees from Emory, Northeastern, Louisville universities, the University of Central England, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
, and other awards.
Southern Center for Human Rights
The Southern Center for Human Rights is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the civil and human rights of people in the criminal justice system in the South...
and teaches at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Law Schools and the Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
. He served as director of the Southern Center for Human Rights from 1982 through 2005, where he developed a national reputation as an opponent of the death penalty.
Early life and education
Bright grew up on a family farm in Boyle County, KentuckyBoyle County, Kentucky
Boyle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Danville. In 2000, its population was 28,432. It was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle , a U.S...
, the son of a conservative cattle and tobacco farmer. As a student at Boyle County High School
Boyle County High School
Boyle County High School, located in Danville, Kentucky, is a public secondary school serving nearly 900 students from grades 9-12. Boyle County High School opened to students in the 1963-64 school year. The school was created to consolidate four county schools that included grades 1-12 in the...
, he planned to be a sports writer, writing stories for The Advocate-Messenger
The Advocate-Messenger
The Advocate-Messenger is a newspaper published daily in Danville, Kentucky. On Sundays, The Advocate-Messenger is called The Kentucky Advocate.The newspaper serves central Kentucky, with distribution primarily inBoyle,Lincoln,...
. He began his undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
(UK) in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
in fall 1965, and joined the Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
fraternity. He became involved with student government, switched his major from journalism to political science, and was elected student body president in 1970. Entering that office in a turbulent time of student demonstrations against the Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the outspoken and controversial Bright earned a reputation as UK's "first liberal activist student president." He received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and 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.
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...
) from the University of Kentucky.
Legal career
Before coming to the Center, Bright was a legal services attorney in AppalachiaAppalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
, and a public defender and director of a law school clinical program in Washington, DC.
He has represented people facing the death penalty at trials and on appeals and prisoners in challenges to inhumane conditions and practices; written essays and articles on the right to counsel
Right to counsel
Right to counsel is currently generally regarded as a constituent of the right to a fair trial, allowing for the defendant to be assisted by counsel , and if he cannot afford his own lawyer, requiring that the government should appoint one for him/her, or pay his/her legal expenses...
, racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, judicial independence
Judicial independence
Judicial Independence is the idea that the judiciary needs to be kept away from the other branches of government...
, and other topics that have appeared in scholarly publications, books, magazines and newspapers; and testified before committees of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He has also taught at the law schools at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, Northeastern University, American University Washington College of Law, and other universities.
The Fulton County Daily Report
Fulton County Daily Report
The Fulton County Daily Report, also referred to as the Daily Report, is a daily legal newspaper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The newspaper was established in 1890.1The paper covers Georgia legal and business news...
named Bright “Newsmaker of the Year” in 2003 for his contribution to bringing about creation of a public defender system in Georgia. Although Bright has brought lawsuits regarding indigent defense all over the South and the state of Georgia, his work in Greene County
Greene County, Georgia
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 3, 1786. As of 2000, the population is 14,406. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 15,662. The county seat is Greensboro...
was especially significant, and played a crucial role in the passage of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act in 2003. His work and the work of the Center have been the subject of a documentary film, Fighting for Life in the Death Belt http://emproductions.net/ and two books, Proximity to Death by William McFeely (Norton, 1999) and Finding Life on Death Row by Katya Lezin (Northeastern University Press, 1999).
Honors
Bright received the American Bar AssociationAmerican 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...
’s Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
Award in 1998; the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
’s Roger Baldwin
Roger Nash Baldwin
Roger Nash Baldwin was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union . He served as executive director of the ACLU until 1950....
Medal of Liberty in 1991; the National Legal Aid & Defender Association
National Legal Aid & Defender Association
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to advocating equal justice for all Americans...
’s Kutak-Dodds Prize in 1992, honorary degrees from Emory, Northeastern, Louisville universities, the University of Central England, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a senior college of the City University of New York in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and is the only liberal arts college with a criminal justice and forensic focus in the United States. The college offers programs in Forensic Science and Forensic...
, and other awards.
Further reading
- Bach, Amy. Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court. Metropolitan Books, New York, 2009. ISBN 978-0805074475
- Lezur, Katya. Finding Life on Death Row. Northeastern University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-1555534578
- McFeely, William. Proximity to Death. Norton, 1999. ISBN 978-0393321043