Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2014-01-24

A specialist in "stand your ground" law will lecture and lead a discussion at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law Thursday, Jan. 30. The public is invited free of charge to the 11 a.m. program in the moot courtroom of Robinson law building.

The program, "Stand Your Ground Laws: The Dilemma of Discretion, Race and Culture," is presented as part of Cumberland's Cordell Hull Speakers Forum series.

Tamara F. Lawson, a professor at Saint Thomas University School of Law in Florida, will discuss the dynamics of discretionary decisions made in homicide cases such as the 2013 Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case and other high profile criminal trials.

Lawson, who teaches criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence law, and leads a seminar on race and the law, has done extensive research on Florida's "stand your ground" law and on self-defense laws nationally.  Her writings on the Trayvon Martin case include an article that was published in the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy. She has also written a chapter for an upcoming book on the subject.

The one-hour presentation at Cumberland carries 1.0 hour of Continuing Legal Education credit.

For more information on the program, call Cumberland School of Law at (205) 726-2400.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.