10th Annual John Paul Stevens Lecture featuring Judge Bernice Donald of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

University of Colorado Law School's tenth annual John Paul Stevens Lecture featured Bernice Donald, United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The Honorable Bernice B. Donald, appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate 96-2, has been on the Sixth Circuit for the last decade. It was only fitting that she marked the Stevens Lecture's tenth anniversary with her poignant insights, lessons learned, and reflections about the judiciary and legal system.

Judge Donald is an incredible jurist and pioneer. She has received over 100 awards during her career, including the ABA's Lifetime Liberty Achievement Award and Women Trailblazers Project feature. She was the first female president of the American Bar Foundation, and has served as the President of the National Association of Women Judges and the Association of Women Attorneys. She was the first African-American female on numerous courts, including the Sixth Circuit. Indeed, she has been a leader since childhood, integrating schools in Mississippi.

Judge Donald is praised for her balanced judicial temperament and is known for her critical dissents and groundbreaking decisions. In addition to her accomplished career as a jurist, she teaches and has published numerous articles, many in the areas of implicit bias and constitutional law. She taught and led programs all over the world, including Romania, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The Stevens Lecture is sponsored by Colorado Law's Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law. The Stevens Lecture has welcomed six U.S. Supreme Court justices and other esteemed jurists to Colorado Law since 2011. This year's lecture was co-sponsored by the Colorado Women's Bar Association, Sam Cary Bar Association, Colorado Law's Black Law Students Association, and Colorado Law's Women of Color Collective.