Rorie Norton, Ann Marie Hopwood, & Me
On January 25th, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Fordham Law Review Symposium. Everyone that my wife, Annie, and I met from Fordham was gracious and welcoming. The topic of the discussion was the difficulties faced by pro se litigants, and it was enlightening to hear the varying perspectives; from Federal Judge James Francis, who must routinely deal with pro se prisoners filing civil suits to Columbia Professor Brett Dignam, who has been involved with prisoner rights litigation for over 20 years. I think the law profession, generally, tends to discount pro se litigants but that was not the sentiment around the room on this night.
I would like to say thank you to the students at Fordham law school for inviting me to speak at the Law Review Symposium—specifically, Mari Byrne and Alyssa Beaver for setting up the event.
A special debt of gratitude goes out to Fordham student, Rorie Norton. I met Rorie last year while researching a Miranda issue for a reply brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. Rorie had recently written a law review note on the subject and because I rarely follow social norms, I called him on a whim seeking his assistance which, to his credit, he gave willingly. It was Rorie’s idea to help bring me to Fordham. Thanks, my friend.