Stahr, Elvis J., Jr.

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Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law

Maurer School of Law: Indiana UniversityDigital Repository @ Maurer LawArticles by Maurer Faculty Faculty Scholarship1956The University of Kentucky College of LawElvis J. Stahr Jr.Indiana University School of LawFollow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpubPart of the Legal Education Commons, and the Legal Profession CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the FacultyScholarship at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted forinclusion in Articles by Maurer Faculty by an authorized administrator ofDigital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contactwattn@indiana.edu.Recommended CitationStahr, Elvis J. Jr., "The University of Kentucky College of Law" (1956). Articles by Maurer Faculty. Paper 2306.http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/2306THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKYCOLLEGE OF LAWPrepared by ELVIS J. STAHR, JR., DeanBrief HistoryThe University of Kentucky Collegeof Law was organized in 1908 as thefourth college of the University, un-der the deanship of judge W. T. Laf-ferty, for whom the present buildingis named, and shortly thereafter be-came the first law school in the stateto be admitted to membership in theAssociation of American Law Schools.In 1912, the College began publica-tion of its own law review and a fewyears later established what is be-lieved to have been the first practicecourt in the country to be made anintegral part of the regular curricu-lum. In 1914, Henry Clay Chapter ofPhi Alpha Delta legal fraternity wasestablished, and in 1925, BreckinridgeInn of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternitywas installed. judge Lyman Chalkleywas named acting dean when judgeLafferty died in 1922, and Charles J.Turck, now president of MacalesterCollege, succeeded him in 1924.In 1925 the College became the firstlaw school in the state to be placedon the approved list of the AmericanBar Association, and when DeanTurck resigned in 1927 to becomepresident of Centre College, he wassucceeded by Dr. Alvin E. Evans,who served as dean for twenty-oneyears and acquired a national reputa-tion as a legal scholar.In 1981 the College was granted acharter by the Order of the Coif, be-ing the first law school in this regionto be so honored. In 1938 the Collegemoved into the present building.More recently the College operatedwithout interruption, though with re-duced enrollment, through WorldWar II just as it had during WorldWar I. Elvis J. Stahr, Jr., succeededto the deanship in 1948 upon the re-tirement of Dean Evans.When Dr. Herman Lee Donovanbecame President of the Universityof Kentucky in 1941, he found theCollege of Law, including the LawLibrary, had operated the precedingyear on a budget of $40,000. The lastbudget he approved and recom-mended to the Board of Trustees, thatfor 1956-57, provides $105,401 for theCollege, plus $15,900 for books anddirect services for the Law Library,or a total of $121,300-more thantreble the 1940-41 figure.FacultyIn the early years the Law facultyincluded, in addition to Dean Laf-ferty, many attorneys who were orwere to become outstanding membersof the profession. Most of their namesare still familiar to Kentucky law-yers. Among them were judgeCharles Kerr, Thomas Edwin Moore,September, 1956John R. Allen, Richard C. Stoll, JohnT. Shelby, George R. Hunt, J. RichardBush, Judge Henry Stites Barker,Samuel M. Wilson, Judge LymanChalkley, George W. Vaughn, JohnJ. Tigert, William E. Nichols, WilliamH. Townsend, Matt S. Walton,George Du Relle, J. Nathan Elliott,Clinton M. Harbison, Reuben B.Hutchcraft, Walter L. Summers, Wil-liam S. Hamilton, Martin T. Kelly,and George W. Goble. Members ofthe Court of Appeals were listed as.non-resident lecturers."Around the close of World War Ithe number of part-time teachers wasreduced as the full-time faculty grew.Dr. W. Lewis Roberts, who joined thefaculty in 1920, is now the oldestmember who is still connected.Dean Turck's faculty includedHarland J. Scarborough and Profes-sors Chalkley and Roberts, and anumber of special lecturers amongwhom were Flem D. Sampson, Rich-ard C. Stoll, Chester D. Adams, JamesPark, R. Priest Dietzman, and SamuelM. Wilson. Roy Moreland joined thefull-time faculty in 1926.Dean Evans came in 1927 fromGeorge Washington University andpromptly brought Dr. Forest R. Blackand Dr. Frank H. Randall to the fac-ulty, a little later adding Dr. GeorgeRagland, Jr., and then Dr. FrankMurray. Among the special lecturersin 1929-32 were Attorney General J.W. Cammack, Judge Simeor S.Willis, Edmund F. Trabue, Judge A.M. J. Cochran, Senator Alben W.Barkley, Judge King Swope, John M.Stevenson, Robert T. Caldwell, JudgeWilliam H. Rees, Mac Swinford, Wil-liam Marshall Bullitt, Judge CharlesI. Dawson, and others. Dr. AmosEblen joined the full-time faculty in1933 and William H. Pittman camein 1936.In 1941, when President Donovanarrived, the Law faculty was thuscomposed of Dean Alvin E. Evans(Ph.D., J.D., Michigan) and six pro-fessors: W. Lewis Roberts (S.J.D.,Harvard), Roy M. Moreland (J.D.,Chicago), Frank H. Randall (S.J.D.,Harvard), Frank Murray (S.J.D.,Harvard), Amos H. Eblen (S.J.D.,Harvard), and William H. Pittman(LL.B., Idaho). Dean Evans retiredin 1948, later becoming Dean of theSt. Louis University School of Lawbefore he died in 1953. ProfessorRoberts retired from teaching in1947, Professor Randall in 1948. Pro-fessor Murray died suddenly in 1951.Professor Eblen resigned to enter lawpractice in 1945, and is now ExecutiveSecretary of the Judicial Council ofKentucky. Professor Pittman acceptedappointment to the Law faculty ofthe University of Missouri in 1945.Thus the only member of the abovefaculty who is fully active here todayis Professor Moreland (S.J.D., Harv-ard, since 1942). The full-time facultywas increased from seven membersin 1941 to nine by 1947 and will beten in 1956-57. It includes Dean ElvisJ. Stahr, Jr. (B.C.L., Oxford), who suc-ceeded Dean Evans in 1948 afterfifteen months as Associate Professorand Professor, following several yearsof law practice in New York; Pro-fessor Moreland, who joined the fac-ulty in 1926, after practicing in Lex-ington; Professor Paul Oberst (LL.M.,Michigan), who came in 1946 as As-sistant Professor after practice inKansas City and research at Michigan;Professor Alfred B. McEwen (LL.B.,Virginia), who had practiced in Rich-mond, Virginia, and who came in1948 from Mercer University; Pro-fessor William L. Matthews, Jr.(S.J.D., Michigan), who came in 1947as Associate Professor after practicein Bowling Green and research atMichigan; Professor Frederick W.Whiteside, Jr. (LL.B., Cornell), whohad practiced in New York and Wash-ington and who came in 1949 fromRutgers University as Associate Pro-fessor; Professor Willburt D. Ham(LL.M., Harvard), who had practicedKentucky State Bar Journalin Springfield, Illinois, and who camein 1949 from the University of Cin-cinnati as Associate Professor; As-sociate Professor Jesse J. Dukeminier,Jr. (LL.B., Yale), who had practicedin New York and who came from theUniversity of Minnesota in 1955; As-sociate Professor Dorothy Salmon(LL.B., Kentucky), who was appointedInstructor in 1945 and is also LawLibrarian; and Visiting ProfessorRichard D. Gilliam, Jr. (LL.B., Vir-ginia).The present active faculty hold anaverage of three degrees each. Theaverage age is now 43, as against 51in 1941. Professors Oberst, McEwen,Whiteside, and Dukeminier are ex-pected to earn S.J.D. degrees withinthe next few years at Michigan, Vir-ginia, Yale and Yale, respectively.All but one (Miss Salmon) of the pres-ent faculty have had experience inpractice; five of the nine have heldgovernmental positions; seven of thenine have served in the Armed Forcesin wartime. Among them they alsohold a sizeable number of professionaland civic distinctions. The Collegealso makes use of several outstandingattorneys on a part-time basis, includ-ing Rufus Lisle, John L. Davis, ScottReed, William R. Bagby, and others.LibraryNext to a strong faculty, a goodlibrary is one of the major needs ofa first-rate law school. Today theCollege has one of the five or sixfinest in the South, with over 54,200volumes, a well-trained Law Librarianwith a secretarial assistant, full back-up from the University Library Sys-tem in binding, ordering, cataloging,etc., and an annual book budget of$10,000. The reading room was air-conditioned in 1953.BuildingLafferty Hall was built in 1938 andtoday, with a new roof, an air-con-ditioned library, improved lighting, anewly-fitted-out courtroom, and a newseminar room, it still serves well ex-cept that stack space is inadequate.Law JournalThe Kentucky Law Journal in its44-year history (it is the 10th oldestof some 70 law reviews published bythe Nation's leading law schools), hasmaintained an excellent reputationand a steadily growing circulation.EnrollmentIn the academic year 1941-42, 79different regular students were en-rolled in the College of Law. Thecomparable figure for 1955-56 was129. The all-time high for a singleterm occurred in 1947, with a fall en-rollment of 255. Enrollment has beenincreasing slowly for the past threeyears, after a period of decline fol-lowing the attendance of large num-bers of World War II veterans. TheCollege continues to be far more in-terested in quality than in quantity ofits students, however.StandardsAdmission standards have movedupward in recent years, from a re-quirement of 60 semester hours ofcollege credit with a standing of 1.0(1.3 preferred), to a minimum of 90semester hours with a standing of1.3 (on basis C=1) or 1.0 and arespectable score on the National LawSchool Admission Test. A majority oflaw students today have degrees uponentrance or receive a degree after thefirst year under a combined-curricu-lum program.Academic standards in the College,always high, have been tightenedsteadily, the most noteworthy inno-vation being the "automatic droprule" adopted in the late '40's, whichprovides for exclusion of the studentwho fails to keep up with progres-sively higher minimum cumulativeaverages as he goes through.Recent DevelopmentsThe general quality and scope ofprofessional training offered by theCollege have been enriched and en-September, 1956larged in several ways in recent years.Notable among these have been thefollowing, not necessarily in order ofimportance:(a) Participation since 1950 in theannual National Moot Court Competi-tion, in which the College's teamshave enjoyed noteworthy success,having reached the final rounds inNew York four times in the first sixyears of the Competition, a recordexcelled by only one and tied by onlytwo of the 91 law schools which haveparticipated.(b) Inauguration in 1949 of a vol-untary apprenticeship program forsummer training of law students inlaw offices.(c) Overhaul and modernization ofthe entire curriculum in 1956 follow-ing some years of study, discussion,and experimentation.(d) Adoption in 1953 of the policyof having at least one special institute,conference, or short course for prac-ticing attorneys and/or legal educa-tors each year. In 1953, The South-ern Law Review Conference methere, and a four-day short course onthe new Kentucky Rules of Civil Pro-cedure was held; in 1954, the firstKentucky Traffic Court Conferencewas held here, and in 1955, a Medico-Legal Institute; in 1956, the South-eastern Regional Conference of LawTeachers met here(e) Establishment in late 1954 ofthe "Kentucky Law Scholarships," aprogram through which practicinglawyers throughout the State makesmall annual contributions to a fundwhich is used to provide financial as-sistance to law students on the basisof character, ability, and need. Four-teen students were aided with the$3,800 available the first year (1955-56).(f) Organization in 1949 of LawClubs for extra-curricular training inbrief-writing and oral argument, avaluable supplement to the regularprogram for non-Law journal-staffmembers. Feature of this program isthe final inter-club argument judgedannually by the Court of Appeals ofKentucky.(g) Offering of a large number ofbook prizes and a growing number ofcash prizes to students annually forthe past several years. These haveprovided stimulus for better work ina number of special activities and inmost regular courses.(h) Inauguration of a seminar pro--grain for second- and third-year stu-dents in 1954. This ultra-modern pro-gram provides for greater individualattention to students and a welcomedrelief for them from the casebooksystem.(i) Inauguration of a first-yearcourse in Legal Method in 1950,which has now developed into an ex-cellent vehicle for general orienta-tion and much-needed training inlegal writing, for beginning law stu-dents.(i) Inauguration in 1948 of a non-credit course called "Kentucky Prac-tice" for Law seniors, in which judgesand practicing lawyers are invited toaddress the class on specialized topicsor "practical" aspects of law practice.(k) Inauguration in 1948 of anannual legal forum, which by 1951developed into the idea of an annualLaw Day, with an outstandingspeaker being brought to the campusand several other events being held,such as a Recognition Convocation inhonor of students who have achieveddistinction in various ways, a Gradua-tion Luncheon in honor of seniors,mock trials, pre-law students' meet-ings, and so on.(1) Increasing participation by fac-ulty members in committee work forthe State Bar Ass'n and the Ass'n ofAmerican Law Schools and increasedattendance at an increased variety ofnational and regional professionalmeetings.Kentucky State Bar Journal(m) Increased emphasis on facultyresearch through a summer researchprogram and the organization of anelective faculty committee to stimu-late and co-ordinate research.(n) Inauguration in 1949 of thecustom of preparing and sending toall Alumni of the College an annualNewsletter, covering activities at theCollege and supplemented by indi-vidual news of graduates.(o) Provision of leadership in thefight for higher standards for admis-sion to the Bar in Kentucky, resultingin the demise of unaccredited lawschools as sources of candidates foradmission, and improvements in thebar examination.(p) A growing reputation in thestate and nation, due to all the factorsherein recounted and to the increas-ing success of the College's graduates.GraduatesThe College is not yet fifty yearsold, and only in recent years has thesolid, high-standard training it offersbegun to be fully demonstrated inthe performance of its alumni. Thereare scores of outstanding examplestoday. By way of illustration, therehad never been an alumnus on theCourt of Appeals prior to 1938; sincethen there have been four. The Col-lege has produced a judge of the TaxCourt of the U. S. and a federal dis-trict judge (in Alabama), both ap-pointed in the past ten years or less.At the present time, the Governor,the Attorney General, three Court ofAppeals judges, the Senate MajorityLeader and many other legislators,and numerous high state and federalofficials are alumni of the College.At least a dozen Circuit judges andcountless city and county officials inKentucky are also alumni, and manywho have gone into private practiceand into business are enjoying distinc-tion and success.Today the College's standing is na-tionally high by all criteria used inrating law schools. It is an institu-tion of which the Kentucky Bar andall Kentuckians may be justly proud.(Ed. Note: Dean Stahr has beengranted a year's leave from the Col-lege of Law to serve as Chairman ofPresident Eisenhower's Committee onHigher Education.)Boys as a rule aren't vicious ormean; just energetic and restless likean electric storm or an unbroken colt.They have big possibilities for goodor bad and it is the duty of the eldersto channel them into good.September, 1956TO THE BENCH AND BAR OF KENTUCKYlnn ouncing:"The Lawyer's Treasury"DeLuxe Edition $7.50articles selected from ABA Journal by American Bar Association com-mittee.We have a complete line of legal and tax books. Catalog upon request.THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, INC.Publishers of legal and tax publications since 1838730 N. Meridian Street Indianapolis 7, Indiana

The University of Kentucky College of Law

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The University of Kentucky College of Law

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Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law