Leslie Kendrick, a 2006 University Law School graduate, recently received the Brown Award, a $10,000 annual distinction presented by the Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Foundation, for outstanding student legal writing.
Kendrick, a former Rhodes Scholar who is now clerking for fellow University alum Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, was awarded for her article entitled, "A Test for Criminally Instructional Speech."
Kendrick explained that her article examined how to deal with "criminally instructional speech," which is simply speech that instructs someone on how to commit a crime, in light of the freedom of speech provided by the First Amendment.
"[The paper] looks at existing laws of aiding and abetting," Kendrick said. "Say I want to murder somebody and you supply me with a hand gun, to commit a murder ... you would be guilty of aiding and abetting. Similarly, if you gave directions on how to kill a person, or other speech-based instructions, you would also be guilty" given that the crime was executed.
Law School Professors Vincent Blasi and Lillian Brevier entered Kendrick's work into the competition.
"Lillian Brevier and I both thought the article was exceptional," Blasi said, noting Kendrick's combination of creative and practical writing.
"She identified a category of writings that deserve special distinctive legal treatment and then was able to draw on some traditional notions of criminal law to produce a quite original test to decide if these writings were protected by the First Amendment," Blasi said.
According to Kenneth Engerrand, a trustee of the Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Foundation, the competition's entries are judged initially by himself and various other people, then the top five entries are submitted to a panel of three judges: a law school dean, a court of appeals judge and a law school professor, chosen by Vera Brown, widow of Judge John R. Brown and founder of the Foundation.
In addition to the $10,000, Engerrand said Kendrick will also be able to take a trip to meet with the Supreme Court justices or to attend the American Bar Association's judges' dinner.
Kendrick, who said she plans to pay off some of her student loans and save the remaining award money, added that the award was "just a wonderful surprise and was completely in keeping in how supportive the faculty at U.Va. were throughout law school."
Read More
Ryan and Sheridan provide full accounts of Ryan’s resignation. They differ significantly
By Cecilia Mould and Ford McCracken | 8 hours ago“I concur fully with President Ryan’s recollection of events,” former Board Rector Robert Hardie said.
Research grant gaps, flight cancellations among costs of 43-day government shutdown
By Grace Little | 23 hours agoAreas that felt the deficits include federally-funded research, telemedicine services offered through U.Va. Health and canceled flights for holiday travel.
Student Council discusses potential student detoxification center, lockdown aftermath
By Jaylynn Perez | YesterdayStudent Council met Tuesday to discuss a potential proposal for a student detoxification center on Grounds following growing concerns about student safety and medical amnesty policies.
